Nucleic acids compositions conferring dwarfing phenotype

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to putative known and unknown deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and amino acid sequences identified in one or more metabolic pathways that lead to dwarfism and stunting in plants and the use of these sequences in agriculture to create dwarf varieties of any plant species. This invention also relates to nucleic acids sequences and polypeptides that produce altered metabolism phenotypes in plants.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This invention relates to putative known and unknown deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and amino acid sequences identified in one or more metabolic pathways that lead to dwarfism and stunting in plants and the use of these sequences in agriculture to create dwarf varieties of any plant species. This invention also relates to nucleic acid sequences and polypeptides that alter metabolism in plants.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The Green Revolution crops, introduced in the late 1960s and early 1970s, produce several times as much grain as the traditional varieties they replaced, and they spread rapidly. They enabled India to double its wheat crop in seven years, dramatically increasing food supplies and averting widely predicted famine. The Green Revolution's leading research achievement was to hasten the perfection of dwarf spring wheat. Though it is conventionally assumed that farmers want a tall, impressive-looking harvest, in fact shrinking wheat and other crops has often proved beneficial. Bred for short stalks, plants expend less energy on growing inedible column sections and more on growing valuable grain. Stout, short-stalked wheat also neatly supports its kernels, whereas tall-stalked wheat may bend over at maturity, complicating reaping. Nature has favored genes for tall stalks, because in nature plants must compete for access to sunlight. In high-yield agriculture equally short-stalked plants will receive equal sunlight. Researchers are seeking dwarf strains of rice and other crops in order to increase agronomic yields. Identification of genes and metabolic pathway modifications that can be used for creation of rapidly growing dwarf strains would be especially useful for grain and cereal crops and also for other agronomically important crops such as forest trees, ornamental species such as turfgrass, and plants such as Nicotiana sp. grown as hosts for biopharmaceutical manufacturing.

[0003] The discovery of putative known and unknown DNA and amino acid sequences identified in one or more metabolic pathways leading to dwarfism and stunting in plants satisfies a need in the art by providing new compositions which are useful in agriculture to create dwarf varieties of any plant species.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] This invention relates to putative known and unknown deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and amino acid sequences identified in one or more metabolic pathways that lead to dwarfism and stunting in plants and the use of these sequences in agriculture to create dwarf varieties of any plant species. This invention also relates to nucleic acids sequences and polypeptides, the expression of which cause altered metabolism and fatty acid production in plants.

[0005] In some embodiments, the present invention provides a composition comprising a nucleic acid selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs:1-571. The present invention is not limited to the particular nucleic acid encoded by these sequences. Indeed, it is contemplated that the present invention contemplates variants, homologs, and portions or fragments of these sequences. Therefore, in some embodiments, the present invention provides a composition comprising a nucleic acid sequence that hybridizes to a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs:1-571 under conditions ranging from low to high stringency. In still further embodiments, the present invention provides a composition comprising a nucleic acid that inhibits or competes with the binding a nucleic acid selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs:1-571 to their complements. In other embodiments, the present invention provides a composition comprising a nucleic acid that hybridizes to a sequence selected from the group of SEQ ID NOs:1-571 and which confers a dwarfing phenotype or altered metabolism phenotype when expressed in a plant.

[0006] In still further preferred embodiments, the present invention provides a vector comprising a nucleic acid selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs:1-571. The present invention is not limited to the particular nucleic acid encoded by these sequences. Indeed, it is contemplated that the present invention contemplates variants, homologs, and portions or fragments of these sequences. Therefore, in some embodiments, the present invention provides a vector comprising a nucleic acid sequence that hybridizes to a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs:1-571 under conditions ranging from low to high stringency. In still further embodiments, the present invention provides a vector comprising a nucleic acid that inhibits or competes with the binding a nucleic acid selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs:1-571 to their complements. In other embodiments, the present invention provides a vector comprising a nucleic acid that hybridizes to a sequence selected from the group of SEQ ID NOs:1-571 and which confers a dwarfing or altered metabolism phenotype when expressed in a plant.

[0007] In some embodiments, the present invention comprises a plant transfected with the nucleic acids or vectors described above. In still further embodiments, the present invention comprises the seeds, leaves, or oil produced by the transfected plants.

[0008] In some preferred embodiments, the present invention provides a composition comprising a nucleic acid selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs:43, 49, 52, 79, 94, and 151. The present invention is not limited to the particular nucleic acid encoded by these sequences. Indeed, it is contemplated that the present invention contemplates variants, homologs, and portions or fragments of these sequences. Therefore, in some embodiments, the present invention provides a composition comprising a nucleic acid sequence that hybridizes to a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs:43, 49, 52, 79, 94, and 151 under conditions ranging from low to high stringency. In still further embodiments, the present invention provides a composition comprising a nucleic acid that inhibits or competes with the binding a nucleic acid selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs:43, 49, 52, 79, 94, and 151 to their complements. In other embodiments, the present invention provides a composition comprising a nucleic acid that hybridizes to a sequence selected from the group of SEQ ID NOs:43, 49, 52, 79, 94, and 151 and which confers a phenotype when expressed in a plant, the phenotype selected from the group consisting of dwarfing, alteration of fatty acid synthesis, and alteration of metabolism.

[0009] In still further preferred embodiments, the present invention provides a vector comprising a nucleic acid selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs:43, 49, 52, 79, 94, and 151. The present invention is not limited to the particular nucleic acid encoded by these sequences. Indeed, it is contemplated that the present invention contemplates variants, homologs, and portions or fragments of these sequences. Therefore, in some embodiments, the present invention provides a vector comprising a nucleic acid sequence that hybridizes to a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs:43, 49, 52, 79, 94, and 151 under conditions ranging from low to high stringency. In still further embodiments, the present invention provides a vector comprising a nucleic acid that inhibits or competes with the binding a nucleic acid selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs:43, 49, 52, 79, 94, and 151 to their complements. In other embodiments, the present invention provides a vector comprising a nucleic acid that hybridizes to a sequence selected from the group of SEQ ID NOs:43, 49, 52, 79, 94, and 151 and which confers a phenotype when expressed in a plant, the phenotype selected from the group consisting of dwarfing, alteration of fatty acid synthesis, and alteration of metabolism.

[0010] In some embodiments, the present invention comprises a plant transfected with the nucleic acids or vectors described above. In still further embodiments, the present invention comprises the seeds or oil produced by the transfected plants.

[0011] In some embodiments, the present invention provides methods comprising providing i) a vector comprising a nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs:43, 49, 52, 79, 94, and 151; ii) a host cell; and transfecting the host cell with the vector under conditions such that fatty acid synthesis by the host cell is altered. In some preferred embodiments, the host cells are part of a plant.

[0012] In other embodiments, the present invention provides methods comprising providing i) a vector comprising a nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting nucleic acid sequences that hybridize to a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs:43, 49, 52, 79, 94, and 151 under conditions of high stringency; ii) a host cell; and transfecting the host cell with the vector under conditions such that fatty acid synthesis by the host cell is altered. In some preferred embodiments, the host cells are part of a plant.

[0013] In some embodiments, the present invention provides methods comprising providing i) a vector comprising a nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs:43, 49, 52, 79, 94, and 151; ii) a host cell; and transfecting the host cell with the vector under conditions such that the metabolism the host cell is altered. In some preferred embodiments, the host cells are part of a plant.

[0014] In other embodiments, the present invention provides methods comprising providing i) a vector comprising a nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of nucleic acid sequences that hybridize to a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs:43, 49, 52, 79, 94, and 151 under conditions of high stringency; ii) a host cell; and transfecting the host cell with the vector under conditions such that the metabolism the host cell is altered. In some preferred embodiments, the host cells are part of a plant.

[0015] In further embodiments, the present invention provides methods for producing dwarf industrial crops. It is contemplated that these dwarf industrial crops will have increased yields as compared non-dwarf industrial crops. Therefore, in some embodiments, the present invention provides methods comprising providing i) a nucleic acid selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs:1-154 and ii) a plant or plant tissue; and transfecting the plant or plant tissue with the nucleic acid such that it is expressed in at least a portion of the plant tissue or plant. The present invention is not limited to the particular sequences encoded by SEQ ID NOs: 1-154. Indeed, a variety of nucleic acid sequences are contemplated. In particular, the present invention encompasses nucleic acid sequences that bind to SEQ ID NOs: 1-154 under conditions of low to high stringency. In other embodiments, the present invention encompasses the use of nucleic acids that inhibit or compete with the binding nucleic acids encoded by SEQ ID NOs: 1-154 and their complements. In some embodiments, the nucleic acid is contained within a vector. In other embodiments, the nucleic acid is operably linked to a constitutive or tissue specific promoter. When a tissue specific promoter is utilized, it is contemplated that the dwarfing effect will be confined substantially to the tissue where the nucleic acid is expressed. The present invention is not limited to any particular tissue specific promoter. Indeed, a variety of tissue specific promoters are contemplated, including, but not limited to, leaf, seed, stem, and root specific promoters. In other embodiments, the expression of the nucleic acid is increased as compared to wild-type plants. In still other embodiments, the nucleic acid is expressed under conditions that a dwarf phenotype is observed. The present invention is not limited to any particular industrial crop. Indeed, a variety of industrial crops are contemplated. In preferred embodiments, the industrial crop is selected from corn, soybean, rice, wheat, oilseed rape, cotton, oats, barley, and potato.

[0016] In still further preferred embodiments, the present invention provides the plants produced from the above method. In some embodiments, the invention provides a plant comprising a nucleic acid corresponding to at least one of SEQ ID NOs. 1-154. The present invention is not limited to the particular sequences encoded by SEQ ID NOs: 1-154. Indeed, a variety of nucleic acid sequences are contemplated. In particular, the present invention encompasses nucleic acid sequences that bind to SEQ ID NOs: 1-154 under conditions of low to high stringency. In other embodiments, the present invention encompasses the use of nucleic acids that inhibit or compete with the binding nucleic acids encoded by SEQ ID NOs: 1-1 54 and their complements. In some embodiments, the nucleic acid is contained within a vector. In further embodiments, the nucleic acid is operably linked to a constitutive or tissue specific promoter. When a tissue specific promoter is. utilized, it is contemplated that the dwarfing effect will be confined substantially to the tissue where the nucleic acid is expressed. The present invention is not limited to any particular tissue specific promoter. Indeed, a variety of tissue specific promoters are contemplated, including, but not limited to, leaf, seed, stem, and root specific promoters. In other embodiments, the expression of the nucleic acid is increased as compared to wild-type plants. In still other embodiments, the nucleic acid is expressed under conditions so that a dwarf phenotype is observed. The present invention is not limited to any particular industrial crop. Indeed, a variety of industrial crops are contemplated. In preferred embodiments, the industrial crop is selected from corn, soybean, rice, wheat, oilseed rape, cotton, oats, barley, and potato.

[0017] In some embodiments, the present invention comprises a plant transfected with the nucleic acids or vectors described above. In still further embodiments, the present invention comprises the seeds or oil produced by the transfected plants.

[0018] In still further embodiments, the present invention provides nucleic acids corresponding to contigs and orthologs or homologs predicted from the sequences that cause a stunting or dwarfing phenotype. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the present invention provides a composition comprising a nucleic acid selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 155-279 and 344-571. In still further embodiments, the present invention provides a vector comprising a nucleic acid selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 155-279 and 344-571. The present invention is not limited to the contig sequences disclosed herein. The present invention also encompasses orthologs and homologs of the contig sequences. Therefore, the present invention provides compositions comprising a nucleic acid sequence that hybridizes to a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 155-279 and 344-571 under conditions of low to high stringency. In other embodiments, the present invention provides a composition comprising a nucleic acid that inhibits the binding of a nucleic acid selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 155-279 and 344-571 to their complementary sequences.

[0019] In other embodiments, the present invention provides plants transformed with the contig sequences or vectors comprising the contig sequences. The present invention is not limited to any particular plant. Indeed, a variety of plants are contemplated, including, but not limited to, corn, soybean, rice, wheat, oilseed rape, cotton, oats, barley, and potato plants.

[0020] In still other embodiments, the present invention provides methods comprising providing i) a vector comprising a nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 155-279 and 344-571; ii) a host cell; and transfecting the host cell with the vector under conditions such that fatty acid synthesis by the host cell is altered. In some preferred embodiments, the host cells are part of a plant.

[0021] In still further embodiments, the present invention provides methods comprising providing i) a vector comprising a nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of nucleic acid sequences that hybridize to a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 155-279 and 344-571 under conditions of low to high stringency; and a host cell; and transfecting the host cell with the vector under conditions such that fatty acid synthesis by the host cell is altered. In some embodiments, the present invention provides a composition comprising a nucleic acid that inhibits the binding of a nucleic acid selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 155-279 and 344-571 to their complementary sequences.

[0022] The present invention also provides methods for decreasing the susceptibility of plants to insects and pests and increasing the resistance and tolerance of plants to insects and pests. It is contemplated that expression of the nucleic acids in plants can lead to insect tolerance or resistance by a variety of methods. In some instances, expression of the nucleic acid sequence results in the production of a polypeptide that is directly toxic to an insect. In other instances, resistance or tolerance is conferred through a secondary effect of expression of the nucleic acid (for example, expression results in the production of metabolic compounds, such as sterols, that are toxic to an insect).

[0023] In some embodiments, the present invention provides methods comprising providing i) a nucleic acid selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 3, 150, 151, 26, 31, 36, 58, 78, 94, 106, 107, 110, 112, 113, 114, 117, 123; and ii) a plant having susceptibility to insects; and transfecting the plant with the nucleic acid sequence under conditions such that the susceptibility is reduced.

[0024] In other embodiments, the present invention provides methods comprising providing i) a nucleic acid that hybridizes to a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 3, 150, 151, 26, 31, 36, 58, 78, 94, 106, 107, 110, 112, 113, 114, 117, 123 under conditions of low to high stringency; and ii) a plant having susceptibility to insects; and transfecting the plant with the nucleic acid sequence under conditions such that the susceptibility is reduced.

[0025] In further embodiments, the present invention provides methods comprising providing i) a vector comprising a nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 3, 150, 151, 26, 31, 36, 58, 78, 94, 106, 107, 110, 112, 113, 114, 117, 123; and ii) a plant having susceptibility to insects; and transfecting the plant with the nucleic acid sequence under conditions such that the susceptibility is reduced.

[0026] In still further embodiments, the present invention provides methods comprising providing i) a vector comprising a nucleic acid sequence that hybridizes to a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 3, 150, 151, 26, 31, 36, 58, 78, 94, 106, 107, 110, 112, 113, 114, 117, 123 under conditions of low to high stringency; and ii) a plant having susceptibility to insects; and transfecting the plant with the nucleic acid sequence under conditions such that the susceptibility is reduced.

[0027] In some embodiments, the present intention provides methods providing i) a composition comprising a nucleic acid that hybridizes to a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 3, 150, 151, 26, 31, 36, 58, 78, 94, 106, 107, 110, 112, 113, 114, 117, 123 under conditions of low to high stringency; and ii) a plant; and transfecting the plant with the composition under conditions such the resistance of the plant to insects is increased.

[0028] In still other embodiments, the present invention provides methods comprising providing i) a composition comprising a nucleic acid that hybridizes to a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 3, 150, 151, 26, 31, 36, 58, 78, 94, 106, 107, 110, 112, 113, 114, 117, 123 under conditions of low to high stringency; and ii) a plant; and transfecting the plant with the composition under conditions such that the tolerance of the plants to insects is increased.

[0029] In some embodiments, the nucleic acid sequences are operably linked to a promoter (for example, a constitutive or tissue specific promoter). The present invention is not limited to any particular tissue specific promoter. Indeed, a variety of tissue specific promoters are contemplated, including, but not limited to, leaf, seed, stem, and root specific promoters.

[0030] In some embodiments, the present invention provides a composition comprising a polypeptide encoded by nucleic acids selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: SEQ ID NOs: 3, 150, 151, 26, 31, 36, 58, 78, 94, 106, 107, 110, 112, 113, 114, 117, 123 and portions thereof. In still further embodiments, the present invention provides methods for controlling an insect comprising providing a composition comprising a polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 3, 150, 151, 26, 31, 36, 58, 78, 94, 106, 107, 110, 112, 113, 114, 117, 123 and portions thereof; and orally introducing to an insect an insecticidally effective amount of the polypeptide.

[0031] In still further preferred embodiments, the present invention provides an isolated nucleic acid comprising one of SEQ ID NOs: 334, 280, 335, 336, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289, 338, 290, 291, 292, 293, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298, 299, 339, 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 306,307,308,309,310,311,312,314,315,316,317,318, 319, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 333, or 337 or sequences that hybridize to the foregoing sequences under conditions of low stringency, wherein expression of the nucleic acid in a plant results in an altered metabolism phenotype. In some preferred embodiments, the present invention provides a vector comprising one the foregoing sequences. In particularly preferred embodiments, the nucleic acid is operably linked to an exogenous promoter, preferably a plant promoter. In some embodiments, the nucleic acid is in sense orientation while in other embodiments, the nucleic acid is in antisense orientation.

[0032] In still further embodiments, the present invention provides a plant transfected with a nucleic acid, composition, or vector comprising one of SEQ ID NOs: 334, 280, 335, 336, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289, 338, 290, 291, 292, 293, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298, 299, 339, 300, 301,302,303, 304,306,307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312, 314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 319, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 333, or 337 or sequences that hybridize to the foregoing sequences under conditions of low stringency. In some embodiments, the present invention provides a seed from such a plant. In other embodiments, the present invention provides a leaf from such a plant.

[0033] In still further embodiments, the present invention provides and nucleic acid, composition, or vector comprising one of SEQ ID NOs: 334, 280, 335, 336, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289, 338, 290, 291, 292, 293, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298, 299, 339, 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312, 314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 319, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 333, or 337 or sequences that hybridize to the foregoing sequences under conditions of low stringency for use in altering the metabolism of a plant.

[0034] In some embodiments, the present invention provides methods and/or processes for making a transgenic plant comprising providing a vector comprising one of SEQ ID NOs: 334, 280, 335, 336, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289, 338, 290, 291, 292, 293, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298, 299, 339, 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312, 314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 319, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 333, or 337 or sequences that hybridize to the foregoing sequences under conditions of low stringency and a plant; and transfecting the plant with the vector. In other embodiments, the present invention provides methods and/or processes for altering the metabolism of a plant comprising providing a vector comprising one of SEQ ID NOs: 334, 280, 335, 336, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289, 338, 290, 291, 292, 293, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298, 299, 339, 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312, 314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 319, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 333, or 337 or sequences that hybridize to the foregoing sequences under conditions of low stringency and a plant; and transfecting the plant with the vector under conditions such that the metabolism of the plant is altered.

[0035] In still further preferred embodiments, the present invention provides an isolated nucleic acid selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 334, 280, 335, 336, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289, 338, 290, 291, 292, 293, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298, 299, 339, 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312, 314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 319, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 333, 337 and nucleic acid sequences that hybridize to any thereof under conditions of low stringency for use in altering the metabolism of a plant.

[0036] In still other embodiments, the present invention provides an isolated nucleic acid comprising one of SEQ ID NOs: 47, 58, 336, 288, 291, 297, 302, 304, 313, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 331, or 332 or sequences that hybridize to the foregoing sequences under conditions of low stringency, wherein expression of the sequences in a plant results in a stunting phenotype. In some preferred embodiments, the present invention provides a vector comprising one the foregoing sequences. In particularly preferred embodiments, the nucleic acid is operably linked to an exogenous promoter, preferably a plant promoter.

[0037] In some embodiments, the nucleic acid is in sense orientation while in other embodiments, the nucleic acid is in antisense orientation. In still further embodiments, the present invention provides a plant transfected with a nucleic acid, composition, or vector comprising one of SEQ ID NOs: 47, 58, 336, 288, 291, 297, 302, 304, 313, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 331, or 332 or sequences that hybridize to the foregoing sequences under conditions of low stringency. In some embodiments, the present invention provides a seed from such a plant. In other embodiments, the present invention provides a leaf from such a plant.

[0038] In still further embodiments, the present invention provides and nucleic acid, composition, or vector comprising one of SEQ ID NOs: 47, 58, 336, 288, 291, 297, 302, 304, 313, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 331, or 332 or sequences that hybridize to the foregoing sequences under conditions of low stringency for use in stunting the growth of a plant or particular tissue of a plant.

[0039] In some embodiments, the present invention provides methods and/or processes for making a transgenic plant comprising providing a vector comprising one of SEQ ID NOs: 47, 58, 336, 288, 291, 297, 302, 304, 313, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 331, or 332 or sequences that hybridize to the foregoing sequences under conditions of low stringency and a plant; and transfecting the plant with the vector. In other embodiments, the present invention provides methods and/or processes for altering the metabolism of a plant comprising providing a vector comprising one of SEQ ID NOs: 47, 58, 336, 288, 291, 297, 302, 304, 313, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 331, or 332 or sequences that hybridize to the foregoing sequences under conditions of low stringency and a plant; and transfecting the plant with the vector under conditions such that the growth of the plant or a particular tissue of the plant is stunted.

[0040] In still other embodiments, the present invention provides an isolated nucleic acid selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 47, 58, 336, 288, 291, 297, 302, 304, 313, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 331, 332, and nucleic acid sequences that hybridize to any thereof under conditions of low stringency for use in producing a stunting phenotype in a plant.

[0041] In further embodiments, the nucleic acid is operably linked to a constitutive or tissue specific promoter. When a tissue specific promoter is utilized, it is contemplated that the dwarfing effect will be confined substantially to the tissue where the nucleic acid is expressed. The present invention is not limited to any particular tissue specific promoter. Indeed, a variety of tissue specific promoters are contemplated, including, but not limited to, leaf, seed, stem, and root specific promoters. In other embodiments, the expression of the nucleic acid is increased as compared to wild-type plants. In still other embodiments, the nucleic acid is expressed under conditions that a dwarf phenotype is observed. The present invention is not limited to any particular industrial crop. Indeed, a variety of industrial crops are contemplated. In preferred embodiments, the industrial crop is selected from corn, soybean, rice, wheat, oilseed rape, cotton, oats, barley, and potato.

[0042] In still other embodiments, the present invention provides a nucleic acid, composition, vector, or plant substantially as described herein in any of the examples.

[0043] In still other embodiments, the present invention provides methods and/or processes for the characterization of fractionated biological samples, comprising providing i) one or more fractionated biological samples; ii) a plurality of references samples; iii) a gas chromatography apparatus; iv) a mass spectroscopy apparatus; and v) data analysis software; and treating the fractionated biological samples and the reference samples with the gas chromatography apparatus to generate chromatographic data corresponding to the fractionated biological samples and the reference samples; treating the fractionated biological samples and the reference samples with the mass spectroscopy apparatus to generate spectroscopic data corresponding to the fractionated biological samples and the reference samples; and processing the chromatographic and the spectroscopic data with the data analysis software, wherein the processing comprises the steps of data reduction, two-dimensional peak matching, quantitative peak differentiation, peak identification, data sorting, and customized reporting.

[0044] In some particularly preferred embodiments, data reduction comprises the generation of peak tables corresponding to the chromatographic data. In further embodiments, the peak tables comprise retention time, retention index, raw peak areas, and normalized peak areas data corresponding to the chromatographic data. In still further embodiments, the two-dimensional peak matching comprises the steps of a) matching peaks from the chromatographic data corresponding to the reference sample and the spectral data corresponding to the biological samples to generated paired peaks, wherein the paired peaks have the same retention index; and b) matching the paired peaks based on the spectroscopic data to generate matched peaks and unmatched peaks. In still further embodiments, quantitative peak differentiation comprises further processing the matched peaks to determine a threshold of change for each of the matched peaks.

[0045] In still further embodiments, matched peaks not meeting a minimum threshold for change are discarded. In still further embodiments, peak identification comprises searching mass spectral libraries with the spectroscopic data. In still further embodiments, a searching step generates chemical abstract services numbers corresponding to the peaks. In other embodiments, peak identification further comprises searching biotechnology databases, wherein the biotechnology databases comprises chemical structures. In some embodiments, data sorting comprises generating an preliminary analyst report corresponding to the biological samples. In further embodiments, custom reporting comprises modifying the preliminary analyst report to generate a final report.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046]FIGS. 1a-pp provide sequences for SEQ ID NOs: 1-154 and 279.

[0047]FIGS. 2a-f provide sequences for SEQ ID NOs: 155-171.

[0048]FIGS. 3a-c provide sequences for SEQ ID NOs: 172-179.

[0049]FIGS. 4a-n provide sequences for SEQ ID NOs: 180-216.

[0050]FIGS. 5a-1 provide sequences for SEQ ID NOs: 217-279.

[0051]FIGS. 6a-d provide a Table presenting the orientation of 152 of the sequences.

[0052]FIGS. 7a-7 q provide sequences for SEQ ID NOs: 280-343.

[0053]FIGS. 8a-d summarize the GC/FID parameters used to analyze metabolite samples.

[0054]FIGS. 9a-9 ppp provide sequences for SEQ ID NOs:344-571.

[0055]FIGS. 10a-10 ffff provide tables summarizing the metabolic changes produced by expression of the indicated sequences in plants.

DEFINITIONS

[0056] Before the present proteins, nucleotide sequences, and methods are described, it should be noted that this invention is not limited to the particular methodology, protocols, cell lines, vectors, and reagents described herein as these may vary. It should also be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular aspects of the invention, and is not intended to limit its scope, which will be limited only by the appended claims.

[0057] It must be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a host cell” includes a plurality of such host cells, reference to the “antibody” is a reference to one or more antibodies and equivalents thereof known to those skilled in the art, and so forth.

[0058] Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Although any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the present invention, the preferred methods, devices, and materials are now described. All publications mentioned herein are incorporated herein by reference for the purpose of describing and disclosing the cell lines, vectors, and methodologies which are reported in the publications which might be used in connection with the invention. Nothing herein is to be construed as an admission that the invention is not entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention.

[0059] “Acylate”, as used herein, refers to the introduction of an acyl group into a molecule, (for example, acylation).

[0060] “Adjacent”, as used herein, refers to a position in a nucleotide sequence immediately 5′ or 3′ to a defined sequence.

[0061] “Agonist”, as used herein, refers to a molecule which, when bound to a polypeptide (for example, a polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid of the present invention), increases the biological or immunological activity of the polypeptide. Agonists may include proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, or any other molecules which bind to the protein.

[0062] “Alterations” in a polynucleotide (for example, a polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid of the present invention), as used herein, comprise any deletions, insertions, and point mutations in the polynucleotide sequence. Included within this definition are alterations to the genomic DNA sequence which encodes the polypeptide.

[0063] “Amino acid sequence”, as used herein, refers to an oligopeptide, peptide, polypeptide, or protein sequence, and fragments or portions thereof, and to naturally occurring or synthetic molecules. “Amino acid sequence” and like terms, such as “polypeptide” or “protein” as recited herein are not meant to limit the amino acid sequence to the complete, native amino acid sequence associated with the recited protein molecule.

[0064] “Amplification”, as used herein, refers to the production of additional copies of a nucleic acid sequence and is generally carried out using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technologies well known in the art (Dieffenbach, C. W. and G. S. Dveksler (1995) PCR Primer, a Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Press, Plainview, N.Y.).

[0065] “Antibody” refers to intact molecules as well as fragments thereof which are capable of specific binding to a epitopic determinant. Antibodies that bind a polypeptide (for example, a polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid of the present invention) can be prepared using intact polypeptides or fragments as the immunizing antigen. These antigens may be conjugated to a carrier protein, if desired.

[0066] “Antigenic determinant”, “determinant group”, or “epitope of an antigenic macromolecule”, as used herein, refer to any region of the macromolecule with the ability or potential to elicit, and combine with, specific antibody. Determinants exposed on the surface of the macromolecule are likely to be immunodominant, that is, more immunogenic than other (immunorecessive) determinants which are less exposed, while some (for example, those within the molecule) are non-immunogenic (immunosilent). As used herein, “antigenic determinant” refers to that portion of a molecule that makes contact with a particular antibody (for example, an epitope). When a protein or fragment of a protein is used to immunize a host animal, numerous regions of the protein may induce the production of antibodies which bind specifically to a given region or three-dimensional structure on the protein; these regions or structures are referred to as antigenic determinants. An antigenic determinant may compete with the intact antigen (the immunogen used to elicit the immune response) for binding to an antibody.

[0067] The term “antisense”, as used herein, refers to a deoxyribonucleotide sequence whose sequence of deoxyribonucleotide residues is in reverse 5′ to 3′ orientation in relation to the sequence of deoxyribonucleotide residues in a sense strand of a DNA duplex. A “sense strand” of a DNA duplex refers to a strand in a DNA duplex which is transcribed by a cell in its natural state into a “sense mRNA.” Thus an “antisense” sequence is a sequence having the same sequence as the non-coding strand in a DNA duplex. The term “antisense RNA” refers to a RNA transcript that is complementary to all or part of a target primary transcript or mRNA and that blocks the expression of a target gene by interfering with the processing, transport and/or translation of its primary transcript or mRNA. The complementarity of an antisense RNA may be with any part of the specific gene transcript, for example, at the 5′ non-coding sequence, 3′ non-coding sequence, introns, or the coding sequence. In addition, as used herein, antisense RNA may contain regions of ribozyme sequences that increase the efficacy of antisense RNA to block gene expression. “Ribozyme” refers to a catalytic RNA and includes sequence-specific endoribonucleases. “Antisense inhibition” refers to the production of antisense RNA transcripts capable of preventing the expression of the target protein.

[0068] “Anti-sense inhibition”, as used herein, refers to a type of gene regulation based on cytoplasmic, nuclear, or organelle inhibition of gene expression due to the presence in a cell of an RNA molecule complementary to at least a portion of the mRNA being translated. It is specifically contemplated that DNA molecules may be from either an RNA virus or mRNA from the host cell genome or from a DNA virus.

[0069] “Antagonist” or “inhibitor”, as used herein, refer to a molecule which, when bound to a polypeptide (for example, a polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid of the present invention), decreases the biological or immunological activity of the polypeptide. Antagonists and inhibitors may include proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, or any other molecules that bind to the polypeptide.

[0070] “Biologically active”, as used herein, refers to a molecule having the structural, regulatory, or biochemical functions of a naturally occurring molecule.

[0071] “Cell culture”, as used herein, refers to a proliferating mass of cells that may be in either an undifferentiated or differentiated state.

[0072] “Chimeric plasmid”, as used herein, refers to any recombinant plasmid formed (by cloning techniques) from nucleic acids derived from organisms which do not normally exchange genetic information (for example, Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae).

[0073] “Chimeric sequence” or “chimeric gene”, as used herein, refer to a nucleotide sequence derived from at least two heterologous parts. The sequence may comprise DNA or RNA.

[0074] As used herein, the term “chromatographic data” refers to total ion chromatograms corresponding to individual biological or reference samples. Data such as retention time, retention index, peak areas, and peak areas normalized to internal standards can be extracted from total ion chromatograms to generate “peak tables.”

[0075] “Coding sequence”, as used herein, refers to a deoxyribonucleotide sequence which, when transcribed and translated, results in the formation of a cellular polypeptide or a ribonucleotide sequence which, when translated, results in the formation of a cellular polypeptide.

[0076] “Compatible”, as used herein, refers to the capability of operating with other components of a system. A vector or plant viral nucleic acid which is compatible with a host is one which is capable of replicating in that host. A coat protein which is compatible with a viral nucleotide sequence is one capable of encapsidating that viral sequence.

[0077] “Coding region”, as used herein, refers to that portion of a gene which codes for a protein. The term “non-coding region” refers to that portion of a gene that is not a coding region.

[0078] “Complementary” or “complementarity”, as used herein, refer to the Watson-Crick base-pairing of two nucleic acid sequences. For example, for the sequence 5′-AGT-3′ binds to the complementary sequence 3′-TCA-5′. Complementarity between two nucleic acid sequences may be “partial”, in which only some of the bases bind to their complement, or it may be complete as when every base in the sequence binds to it's complementary base. The degree of complementarity between nucleic acid strands has significant effects on the efficiency and strength of hybridization between nucleic acid strands.

[0079] As used herein, the term “contig” refers to a nucleic acid sequence that is derived from the contiguous assembly of two or more nucleic acid sequences.

[0080] “Correlates with expression of a polynucleotide”, as used herein, indicates that the detection of the presence of ribonucleic acid that is similar to a nucleic acid (for example, SEQ ID NOs:1-571) and is indicative of the presence of mRNA encoding a polypeptide (for example, a polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid of the present invention) in a sample and thereby correlates with expression of the transcript from the polynucleotide encoding the protein.

[0081] As used herein, the term “customized reporting” refers to the modification of a preliminary analyst report to generate a modified analyst report. In some embodiments, modifications include, but are not limited to, substitution of underivatized compound names for derivatized compound names and generation of a hit score.

[0082] As used herein, the term “data analysis software” refers to software configured for the analysis of spectroscopic and chromatographic data corresponding to fractioned biological and reference samples. Data analysis software is configured to perform data reduction, two dimensional peak matching, quantitative peak differentiation, peak identification, and customized reporting functions.

[0083] As used herein, the term “data reduction” refers to the process of organizing, compiling, and normalizing data (for example, chromatographic data and spectroscopic data). In some embodiments, data reduction includes the normalization of raw chromatogram peak areas and the generation of peak tables. In some embodiments, data reduction also includes the process of filtering peaks based on their normalized area. This step removes peaks that are considered to be background.

[0084] As used herein, the term “data sorting” refers to the generation of a preliminary analyst report. In some embodiment, the preliminary analyst report includes equivalence value, retention time, retention index, normalized peak are, peak identification status, compound name, CAS number, mass spectral library, ID number, MS-XCR value, relative % change, notes, and other information about the fractionated biological sample.

[0085] “Deletion”, as used herein, refers to a change made in either an amino acid or nucleotide sequence resulting in the absence of one or more amino acids or nucleotides, respectively.

[0086] “Encapsidation”, as used herein, refers to the process during virion assembly in which nucleic acid becomes incorporated in the viral capsid or in a head/capsid precursor (for example, in certain bacteriophages).

[0087] “Exon”, as used herein, refers to a polynucleotide sequence in a nucleic acid that encodes information for protein synthesis and that is copied and spliced together with other such sequences to form messenger RNA.

[0088] “Expression”, as used herein, is meant to incorporate transcription, reverse transcription, and translation.

[0089] “Expressed sequence tag (EST)” as used herein, refers to relatively short single-pass DNA sequences obtained from one or more ends of cDNA clones and RNA derived therefrom. They may be present in either the 5′ or the 3′ orientation. ESTs have been shown to be useful for identifying particular genes.

[0090] “Industrial crop”, as used herein, refers to crops grown primarily for consumption by humans or animals or use in industrial processes (for example, as a source of fatty acids for manufacturing or sugars for producing alcohol). It will be understood that either the plant or a product produced from the plant (for example, sweeteners, oil, flour, or meal) can be consumed. Examples of food crops include, but are not limited to, corn, soybean, rice, wheat, oilseed rape, cotton, oats, barley, and potato plants.

[0091] “Foreign gene”, as used herein, refers to any sequence that is not native to the virus.

[0092] “Fusion protein”, as used herein, refers to a protein containing amino acid sequences from each of two distinct proteins; it is formed by the expression of a recombinant gene in which two coding sequences have been joined together such that their reading frames are in phase. Hybrid genes of this type may be constructed in vitro in order to label the product of a particular gene with a protein which can be more readily assayed (for example, a gene fused with lacZ in E. coli to obtain a fusion protein with β-galactosidase activity). Alternatively, a protein may be linked to a signal peptide to allow its secretion by the cell. The products of certain viral oncogenes are fusion proteins.

[0093] As used herein, the term “fractionated biological sample” refers to a biological sample that has been fractionated into two or more fractions based on one or more properties of the sample. For example, in some embodiments (see, for example, Example 19), leaf extracts are fractionated based on extraction with organic solvents.

[0094] “Gene”, as used herein, refers to a discrete nucleic acid sequence responsible for a discrete cellular product. The term “gene”, as used herein, refers not only to the nucleotide sequence encoding a specific protein, but also to any adjacent 5′ and 3′ non-coding nucleotide sequence involved in the regulation of expression of the protein encoded by the gene of interest. These non-coding sequences include terminator sequences, promoter sequences, upstream activator sequences, regulatory protein binding sequences, and the like. These non-coding sequence gene regions may be readily identified by comparison with previously identified eukaryotic non-coding sequence gene regions. Furthermore, the person of average skill in the art of molecular biology is able to identify the nucleotide sequences forming the non-coding regions of a gene using well-known techniques such as a site-directed mutagenesis, sequential deletion, promoter probe vectors, and the like.

[0095] “Growth cycle”, as used herein, is meant to include the replication of a nucleus, an organelle, a cell, or an organism.

[0096] “Heterologous”, as used herein, refers to the association of a molecular or genetic element associated with a distinctly different type of molecular or genetic element.

[0097] “Host”, as used herein, refers to a cell, tissue or organism capable of replicating a vector or plant viral nucleic acid and which is capable of being infected by a virus containing the viral vector or plant viral nucleic acid. This term is intended to include prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, organs, tissues or organisms, where appropriate.

[0098] As used herein, the term “homolog” as in a “homolog” of a given nucleic acid sequence, refers to a nucleic acid sequence (for example, a nucleic acid sequence from another organism), that shares a given degree of “homology” with the nucleic acid sequence.

[0099] The term “homology” refers to a degree of complementarity. There may be partial homology or complete homology (identity). A partially complementary sequence is one that at least partially inhibits a completely complementary sequence from hybridizing to a target nucleic acid and is referred to using the functional term “substantially homologous.” The inhibition of hybridization of the completely complementary sequence to the target sequence may be examined using a hybridization assay (Southern or Northern blot, solution hybridization and the like) under conditions of low stringency. A substantially homologous sequence or probe will compete for and inhibit the binding (the hybridization) of a completely homologous sequence to a target under conditions of low stringency. This is not to say that conditions of low stringency are such that non-specific binding is permitted; low stringency conditions require that the binding of two sequences to one another be a specific (selective) interaction. The absence of non-specific binding may be tested by the use of a second target that lacks even a partial degree of complementarity (for example, less than about 30% identity); in the absence of non-specific binding the probe will not hybridize to the second non-complementary target.

[0100] Numerous equivalent conditions. may be employed to comprise low stringency conditions; factors such as the length and nature (DNA, RNA, base composition) of the probe and nature of the target (DNA, RNA, base composition, present in solution or immobilized, etc.) and the concentration of the salts and other components (for example, the presence or absence of form amide, dextran sulfate, polyethylene glycol) are considered and the hybridization solution may be varied to generate conditions of low stringency hybridization different from, but equivalent to, the above listed conditions. In addition, the art knows conditions that promote hybridization under conditions of high stringency (for example, increasing the temperature of the hybridization and/or wash steps, the use of formamide in the hybridization solution, etc.).

[0101] When used in reference to a double-stranded nucleic acid sequence such as a cDNA or genomic clone, the term “substantially homologous” refers to any probe that can hybridize to either or both strands of the double-stranded nucleic acid sequence under conditions of low stringency as described above.

[0102] A gene may produce multiple RNA species that are generated by differential splicing of the primary RNA transcript. cDNAs that are splice variants of the same gene will contain regions of sequence identity or complete homology (representing the presence of the same exon or portion of the same exon on both cDNAs) and regions of complete nonidentity (for example, representing the presence of exon “A” on cDNA 1 wherein cDNA 2 contains exon “B” instead). Because the two cDNAs contain regions of sequence identity they will both hybridize to a probe derived from the entire gene or portions of the gene containing sequences found on both cDNAs; the two splice variants are therefore substantially homologous to such a probe and to each other.

[0103] When used in reference to a single-stranded nucleic acid sequence, the term “substantially homologous” refers to any probe that can hybridize (it is the complement of) the single-stranded nucleic acid sequence under conditions of low stringency as described above.

[0104] As used herein, the term “hybridization” is used in reference to the pairing of complementary nucleic acids. Hybridization and the strength of hybridization (for example, the strength of the association between the nucleic acids) is impacted by such factors as the degree of complementary between the nucleic acids, stringency of the conditions involved, the T_(m) of the formed hybrid, and the G:C ratio within the nucleic acids.

[0105] “Hybridization complex”, as used herein, refers to a complex formed between nucleic acid strands by virtue of hydrogen bonding, stacking or other non-covalent interactions between bases. A hybridization complex may be formed in solution or between nucleic acid sequences present in solution and nucleic acid sequences immobilized on a solid support (for example, membranes, filters, chips, pins or glass slides to which cells have been fixed for in situ hybridization).

[0106] “Immunologically active” refers to the capability of a natural, recombinant, or synthetic polypeptide, or any oligopeptide thereof, to bind with specific antibodies and induce a specific immune response in appropriate animals or cells.

[0107] “Induction” and the terms “induce”, “induction” and “inducible”, as used herein, refer generally to a gene and a promoter operably linked thereto which is in some manner dependent upon an external stimulus, such as a molecule, in order to actively transcribed and/or translate the gene.

[0108] “Infection”, as used herein, refers to the ability of a virus to transfer its nucleic acid to a host or introduce viral nucleic acid into a host, wherein the viral nucleic acid is replicated, viral proteins are synthesized, and new viral particles assembled. In this context, the terms “transmissible” and “infective” are used interchangeably herein.

[0109] As used herein, the term “insecticidally effective amount,” when used in reference to a polypeptide, refers to the amount of polypeptide necessary to kill an insect or otherwise deter the feeding of an insect from the source which makes the polypeptide available to the insect. When an insect comes into contact with a insecticidally effective amount of a polypeptide delivered via transgenic plant expression, formulated compositions, sprayable protein compositions, a bait matrix or other delivery system, the results are typically death of the insect, or the insects do not feed upon the source which makes the toxins available to the insects.

[0110] “Insertion” or “addition”, as used herein, refers to the replacement or addition of one or more nucleotides or amino acids, to a nucleotide or amino acid sequence, respectively.

[0111] “In cis”, as used herein, indicates that two sequences are positioned on the same strand of RNA or DNA.

[0112] “In trans”, as used herein, indicates that two sequences are positioned on different strands of RNA or DNA.

[0113] “Intron”, as used herein, refers to a polynucleotide sequence in a nucleic acid that does not encode information for protein synthesis and is removed before translation of messenger RNA.

[0114] “Isolated”, as used herein, refers to a polypeptide or polynucleotide molecule separated not only from other peptides, DNAs, or RNAs, respectively, that are present in the natural source of the macromolecule but also from other macromolecules and preferably refers to a macromolecule found in the presence of (if anything) only a solvent, buffer, ion or other component normally present in a solution of the same. “Isolated” and “purified” do not encompass either natural materials in their native state or natural materials that have been separated into components (for example, in an acrylamide gel) but not obtained either as pure substances or as solutions.

[0115] “Kinase”, as used herein, refers to an enzyme (for example, hexokinase and pyruvate kinase) which catalyzes the transfer of a phosphate group from one substrate (commonly ATP) to another.

[0116] “Marker” or “genetic marker”, as used herein, refer to a genetic locus which is associated with a particular, usually readily detectable, genotype or phenotypic characteristic (for example, an antibiotic resistance gene).

[0117] “Metabolome”, as used herein, indicates the complement of relatively low molecular weight molecules that is present in a plant, plant part, or plant sample, or in a suspension or extract thereof. Examples of such molecules include, but are not limited to: acids and related compounds; mono-, di-, and tri-carboxylic acids (saturated, unsaturated, aliphatic and cyclic, aryl, alkaryl); aldo-acids, keto-acids; lactone forms; gibberellins; abscisic acid; alcohols, polyols, derivatives, and related compounds; ethyl alcohol, benzyl alcohol, methanol; propylene glycol, glycerol, phytol; inositol, furfuryl alcohol, menthol; aldehydes, ketones, quinones, derivatives, and related compounds; acetaldehyde, butyraldehyde, benzaldehyde, acrolein, furfural, glyoxal; acetone, butanone; anthraquinone; carbohydrates; mono-, di-, tri-saccharides; alkaloids, amines, and other bases; pyridines (including nicotinic acid, nicotinamide); pyrimidines (including cytidine, thymine); purines (including guanine, adenine, xanthines/hypoxanthines, kinetin); pyrroles; quinolines (including isoquinolines); morphinans, tropanes, cinchonans; nucleotides, oligonucleotides, derivatives, and related compounds; guanosine, cytosine, adenosine, thymidine, inosine; amino acids, oligopeptides, derivatives, and related compounds; esters; phenols and related compounds; heterocyclic compounds and derivatives; pyrroles, tetrapyrroles (corrinoids and porphines/porphyrins, w/w/o metal-ion); flavonoids; indoles; lipids (including fatty acids and triglycerides), derivatives, and related compounds; carotenoids, phytoene; and sterols, isoprenoids including terpenes.

[0118] “Modulate”, as used herein, refers to a change or an alteration in the biological activity of a polypeptide (for example, a polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid of the present invention). Modulation may be an increase or a decrease in protein activity, a change in binding characteristics, or any other change in the biological, functional or immunological properties of the polypeptide.

[0119] “Movement protein”, as used herein, refers to a noncapsid protein required for cell to cell movement of replicons or viruses in plants.

[0120] “Multigene family”, as used herein, refers to a set of genes descended by duplication and variation from some ancestral gene. Such genes may be clustered together on the same chromosome or dispersed on different chromosomes. Examples of multigene families include those which encode the histones, hemoglobins, immunoglobulins, histocompatibility antigens, actins, tubulins, keratins, collagens, heat shock proteins, salivary glue proteins, chorion proteins, cuticle proteins, yolk proteins, and phaseolins.

[0121] “Non-native”, as used herein, refers to any RNA sequence that promotes production of subgenomic mRNA including, but not limited to, 1) plant viral promoters such as ORSV and brome mosaic virus, 2) viral promoters from other organisms such as human Sindbis viral promoter, and 3) synthetic promoters.

[0122] “Nucleic acid sequence”, as used herein, refers to a polymer of nucleotides in which the 3′ position of one nucleotide sugar is linked to the 5′ position of the next by a phosphodiester bridge. In a linear nucleic acid strand, one end typically has a free 5′ phosphate group, the other a free 3′ hydroxyl group. Nucleic acid sequences may be used herein to refer to oligonucleotides, or polynucleotides, and fragments or portions thereof, and to DNA or RNA of genomic or synthetic origin which may be single- or double-stranded, and represent the sense or antisense strand.

[0123] “Polypeptide”, as used herein, refers to an amino acid sequence obtained from any species and from any source whether natural, synthetic, semi-synthetic, or recombinant.

[0124] “Oil-producing species,” as used herein, refers to plant species which produce and store triacylglycerol in specific organs, primarily in seeds. Such species include soybean (Glycine max), rapeseed and canola (including Brassica napus and B. campestris), sunflower (Helianthus annus), cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), corn (Zea mays), cocoa (Theobroma cacao), safflower (Carthamus tinctorius), oil palm (Elaeis guineensis), coconut palm (Cocos nucifera), flax (Linum usitatissimum), castor (Ricinus communis) and peanut (Arachis hypogaea). The group also includes non-agronomic species which are useful in developing appropriate expression vectors such as tobacco, rapid cycling Brassica species, and Arabidopsis thaliana, and wild species which may be a source of unique fatty acids.

[0125] “Operably linked” refers to a juxtaposition of components, particularly nucleotide sequences, such that the normal function of the components can be performed. Thus, a coding sequence that is operably linked to regulatory sequences refers to a configuration of nucleotide sequences wherein the coding sequences can be expressed under the regulatory control, that is, transcriptional and/or translational control, of the regulatory sequences.

[0126] “Origin of assembly”, as used herein, refers to a sequence where self-assembly of the viral RNA and the viral capsid protein initiates to form virions.

[0127] As used herein, the term “ortholog” refers to genes that have evolved from an ancestral locus.

[0128] “Outlier peak”, as used herein, indicates a peak of a chromatogram of a test sample, or the relative or absolute detected response data, or amount or concentration data thereof. An outlier peak: 1) may have a significantly different peak height or area as compared to a like chromatogram of a control sample; or 2) be an additional or missing peak as compared to a like chromatogram of a control sample.

[0129] As used herein, the term “overexpression” refers to the production of a gene product in transgenic organisms that exceeds levels of production in normal or non-transformed organisms.

[0130] As used herein, the term “cosuppression” refers to the expression of a foreign gene which has substantial homology to an endogenous gene resulting in the suppression of expression of both the foreign and the endogenous gene. As used herein, the term “altered levels” refers to the production of gene product(s) in transgenic organisms in amounts or portions that differ from that of normal or non-transformed organisms.

[0131] As used herein, the term “peak identification” refers to the identification of a chemical compound corresponding to a given peak. In some embodiments, peaks are identified by searching mass spectral libraries. In other embodiments, peaks are identified by searching additional libraries or databases (for example, biotechnology databases).

[0132] As used herein, the term “pesticidal activity” refers to a peptides function as orally active insect control agents, a toxic effect against pests or insects, or the ability to disrupt or deter insect feeding which may or may not cause death of the insect.

[0133] “Phenotype” or “phenotypic trait(s)”, as used herein, refers to an observable property or set of properties resulting from the expression of a gene. “Visual phenotype”, as used herein, refers to a plant displaying a symptom or group of symptoms that meet defined criteria. “Stunting phenotype”, as used herein, refers to a phenotype where any stunting symptoms are present in any plant region. Stunting symptoms include reduced internodal length, reduced petiole length, reduced shoot apex length and reduced leaf blade diameter (along two axes). Other symptoms that are typically viral such as mild (level 2 severity code) chlorosis and blade curling may be present as well. If any additional symptoms such as necrosis, wilting or etching are present (excluding the inoculated leaves) at any level the plant does not fit the criteria for a stunting phenotype. “Altered metabolism phenotype” as used herein, refers to a phenotype wherein the production of a given metabolite is altered (for example, increased or decreased) in a plant. Examples of metabolites which can be altered in a plant include, but are not limited to, acids, fatty acids, amino acids, hydroxy fatty acids, branched fatty acids, carbohydrates, hydrocarbons, glycerides, phenols, strerols, oxygenated terpenes, and other isoprenoids, alcohols, alkenes and alkynes.

[0134] “Plant”, as used herein, refers to any plant and progeny thereof. The term also includes parts of plants, including seed, cuttings, tubers, fruit, flowers, etc.

[0135] “Plant cell”, as used herein, refers to the structural and physiological unit of plants, consisting of a protoplast and the cell wall.

[0136] “Plant organ”, as used herein, refers to a distinct and visibly differentiated part of a plant, such as root, stem, leaf or embryo.

[0137] “Plant tissue”, as used herein, refers to any tissue of a plant in planta or in culture. This term is intended to include a whole plant, plant cell, plant organ, protoplast, cell culture, or any group of plant cells organized into a structural and functional unit.

[0138] “Portion”, as used herein, with regard to a protein (“a portion of a given protein”) refers to fragments of that protein. The fragments may range in size from four amino acid residues to the entire amino acid sequence minus one amino acid (10 nucleotides, 20, 30, 40, 50, 100, 200, etc.). A “portion” is preferably at least 25 nucleotides, more preferably at least 50 nucleotides, and even more preferably at least 100 nucleotides.

[0139] “Positive-sense inhibition”, as used herein, refers to a type of gene regulation based on cytoplasmic inhibition of gene expression due to the presence in a cell of an RNA molecule substantially homologous to at least a portion of the mRNA being translated.

[0140] “Production cell”, as used herein, refers to a cell, tissue or organism capable of replicating a vector or a viral vector, but which is not necessarily a host to the virus. This term is intended to include prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, organs, tissues or organisms, such as bacteria, yeast, fungus, and plant tissue.

[0141] “Promoter”, as used herein, refers to the 5′-flanking, non-coding sequence adjacent a coding sequence which is involved in the initiation of transcription of the coding sequence.

[0142] “Protoplast”, as used herein, refers to an isolated plant cell without cell walls, having the potency for regeneration into cell culture or a whole plant.

[0143] “Purified”, as used herein, when referring to a peptide or nucleotide sequence, indicates that the molecule is present in the substantial absence of other biological macromolecular, for example, polypeptides, polynucleic acids, and the like of the same type. The term “purified” as used herein preferably means at least 95% by weight, more preferably at least 99.8% by weight, of biological macromolecules of the same type present (but water, buffers, and other small molecules, especially molecules having a molecular weight of less than 1000 can be present).

[0144] The term “pure”, as used herein, preferably has the same numerical limits as “purified” immediately above. “Substantially purified”, as used herein, refers to nucleic or amino acid sequences that are removed from their natural environment, isolated or separated, and are at least 60% free, preferably 75% free, and most preferably 90% free from other components with which they are naturally associated.

[0145] As used herein, the term “quantitative peak differentiation” refers to the process of confirming peak matched by calculating their relative quantitative differentiation, which is expressed as a percent change of the sample leak are relative to the area of the reference peak. A predetermined threshold of for the change is used to confirm that the peaks are a match.

[0146] “Recombinant plant viral nucleic acid”, as used herein, refers to a plant viral nucleic acid which has been modified to contain non-native nucleic acid sequences. These normative nucleic acid sequences may be from any organism or purely synthetic, however, they may also include nucleic acid sequences naturally occurring in the organism into which the recombinant plant viral nucleic acid is to be introduced.

[0147] “Recombinant plant virus”, as used herein, refers to a plant virus containing a recombinant plant viral nucleic acid.

[0148] As used herein, the term “reference sample” refers to a sample containing a plurality of known biological macromolecules.

[0149] “Regulatory region” or “regulatory sequence”, as used herein, in reference to a specific gene refers to the non-coding nucleotide sequences within that gene that are necessary or sufficient to provide for the regulated expression of the coding region of a gene. Thus the term regulatory region includes promoter sequences, regulatory protein binding sites, upstream activator sequences, and the like. Specific nucleotides within a regulatory region may serve multiple functions. For example, a specific nucleotide may be part of a promoter and participate in the binding of a transcriptional activator protein.

[0150] “Replication origin”, as used herein, refers to the minimal terminal sequences in linear viruses that are necessary for viral replication.

[0151] “Replicon”, as used herein, refers to an arrangement of RNA sequences generated by transcription of a transgene that is integrated into the host DNA that is capable of replication in the presence of a helper virus. A replicon may require sequences in addition to the replication origins for efficient replication and stability.

[0152] As used herein, the term “resistance to insects,” when used in reference to plants, refers to the ability of a plant to resist insects or other plants.

[0153] “Sample”, as used herein, is used in its broadest sense. A biological sample suspected of containing nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide (for example, a polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid of the present invention) or fragments thereof may comprise a tissue, a cell, an extract from cells, chromosomes isolated from a cell (for example, a spread of metaphase chromosomes), genomic DNA (in solution or bound to a solid support such as for Southern analysis), RNA (in solution or bound to a solid support such as for northern analysis), cDNA (in solution or bound to a solid support), and the like.

[0154] “Silent mutation”, as used herein, refers to a mutation which has no apparent effect on the phenotype of the organism.

[0155] “Site-directed mutagenesis”, as used herein, refers to the in-vitro induction of mutagenesis at a specific site in a given target nucleic acid molecule.

[0156] “Subgenomic promoter”, as used herein, refers to a promoter of a subgenomic mRNA of a viral nucleic acid.

[0157] “Specific binding” or “specifically binding”, as used herein, in reference to the interaction of an antibody and a protein or peptide, mean that the interaction is dependent upon the presence of a particular structure (the antigenic determinant or epitope) on the protein; in other words, the antibody is recognizing and binding to a specific protein structure rather than to proteins in general.

[0158] As used herein, the term “T_(m)” is used in reference to the “melting temperature.” The melting temperature is the temperature at which a population of double-stranded nucleic acid molecules becomes half dissociated into single strands. The equation for calculating the T_(m) of nucleic acids is well known in the art. As indicated by standard references, a simple estimate of the T_(m) value may be calculated by the equation: T_(m)=81.5+0.41(% G+C), when a nucleic acid is in aqueous solution at 1 M NaCl (See for example, Anderson and Young, Quantitative Filter Hybridization, in Nucleic Acid Hybridization [1985]). Other references include more sophisticated computations that take structural as well as sequence characteristics into account for the calculation of T_(m).

[0159] As used herein, the term “stringency” is used in reference to the conditions of temperature, ionic strength, and the presence of other compounds such as organic solvents, under which nucleic acid hybridizations are conducted. Those skilled in the art will recognize that “stringency” conditions may be altered by varying the parameters just described either individually or in concert. With “high stringency” conditions, nucleic acid base pairing will occur only between nucleic acid fragments that have a high frequency of complementary base sequences (for example, hybridization under “high stringency” conditions may occur between homologs with about 85-100% identity, preferably about 70100% identity). With medium stringency conditions, nucleic acid base pairing will occur between nucleic acids with an intermediate frequency of complementary base sequences (for example, hybridization under “medium stringency” conditions may occur between homologs with about 50-70% identity). Thus, conditions of “weak” or “low” stringency are often required with nucleic acids that are derived from organisms that are genetically diverse, as the frequency of complementary sequences is usually less.

[0160] “High stringency conditions” when used in reference to nucleic acid hybridization comprise conditions equivalent to binding or hybridization at 42° C. in a solution consisting of 5×SSPE (43.8 g/l NaCl, 6.9 g/l NaH₂PO₄H₂O and 1.85 g/l EDTA, pH adjusted to 7.4 with NaOH), 0.5% SDS, 5× Denhardt's reagent and 100 μg/ml denatured salmon sperm DNA followed by washing in a solution comprising 0.1×SSPE, 1.0% SDS at 42° C. when a probe of about 500 nucleotides in length is employed.

[0161] “Medium stringency conditions” when used in reference to nucleic acid hybridization comprise conditions equivalent to binding or hybridization at 42° C. in a solution consisting of 5×SSPE (43.8 g/l NaCl, 6.9 g/l NaH₂PO₄H₂O and 1.85 g/l EDTA, pH adjusted to 7.4 with NaOH), 0.5% SDS, 5× Denhardt's reagent and 100 μg/ml denatured salmon sperm DNA followed by washing in a solution comprising 1.0×SSPE, 1.0% SDS at 42° C. when a probe of about 500 nucleotides in length is employed.

[0162] “Low stringency conditions” comprise conditions equivalent to binding or hybridization at 42° C. in a solution consisting of 5×SSPE (43.8 g/l NaCl, 6.9 g/l NaH₂PO₄H₂O and 1.85 g/l EDTA, pH adjusted to 7.4 with NaOH), 0.1% SDS, 5× Denhardt's reagent [50× Denhardt's contains per 500 ml: 5 g Ficoll (Type 400, Pharamcia), 5 g BSA (Fraction V; Sigma)] and 100 g/ml denatured salmon sperm DNA followed by washing in a solution comprising 5×SSPE, 0.1% SDS at 42° C. when a probe of about 500 nucleotides in length is employed.

[0163] “Substitution”, as used herein, refers to a change made in an amino acid of nucleotide sequence which results in the replacement of one or more amino acids or nucleotides by different amino acids or nucleotides, respectively.

[0164] As used herein, the term “susceptibility to insects,” when used in reference to plants, refers the extent that a plant is subject to damage by insects or other plants.

[0165] “Symptom”, as used herein refers to a visual condition resulting from the action of the GENEWARE™ vector or the clone insert.

[0166] “Systemic infection”, as used herein, denotes infection throughout a substantial part of an organism including mechanisms of spread other than mere direct cell inoculation but rather including transport from one infected cell to additional cells either nearby or distant.

[0167] As used herein, the term “tolerance to insects,” when used in reference to plants, refers to the ability of a plant to withstand damage caused by pests or insects.

[0168] “Transcription”, as used herein, refers to the production of an RNA molecule by RNA polymerase as a complementary copy of a DNA sequence.

[0169] “Transcription termination region”, as used herein, refers to the sequence that controls formation of the 3′ end of the transcript. Self-cleaving ribozymes and polyadenylation sequences are examples of transcription termination sequences.

[0170] “Transformation”, as used herein, describes a process by which exogenous DNA enters and changes a recipient cell. It may occur under natural or artificial conditions using various methods well known in the art. Transformation may rely on any known method for the insertion of foreign nucleic acid sequences into a prokaryotic or eukaryotic host cell. The method is selected based on the host cell being transformed and may include, but is not limited to, viral infection, electroporation, lipofection, and particle bombardment. Such “transformed” cells include stably transformed cells in which the inserted DNA is capable of replication either as an autonomously replicating plasmid or as part of the host chromosome. They also include cells which transiently express the inserted DNA or RNA for limited periods of time.

[0171] The term “transfection”, as used herein, refers to the introduction of foreign DNA into eukaryotic cells. Transfection may be accomplished by a variety of means known to the art including calcium phosphate-DNA co-precipitation, DEAE-dextran-mediated transfection, polybrene-mediated transfection, electroporation, microinjection, liposome fusion, lipofection, protoplast fusion, retroviral infection, and biolistics.

[0172] “Transposon”, as used herein, refers to a nucleotide sequence such as a DNA or RNA sequence which is capable of transferring location or moving within a gene, a chromosome or a genome.

[0173] “Transgenic plant”, as used herein, refers to a plant which contains a foreign nucleotide sequence inserted into either its nuclear genome or organellar genome.

[0174] “Transgene”, as used herein, refers to the DNA sequence coding for the replicon that is inserted into the host DNA.

[0175] As used herein, the term “two-dimensional peak matching” refers to the pairing or matching of peaks in reference and fractionated biological samples. Peaks are first paired based on their retention index. A match is then confirmed by spectral matching.

[0176] “Variants” of a polypeptide (for example, a polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid of the present invention), as used herein, refers to a sequence resulting when a polypeptide is altered by one or more amino acids. The variant may have “conservative” changes, wherein a substituted amino acid has similar structural or chemical properties, for example, replacement of leucine with isoleucine. More rarely, a variant may have “nonconservative” changes, for example, replacement of a glycine with a tryptophan. Variants may also include sequences with amino acid deletions or insertions, or both. Guidance in determining which amino acid residues may be substituted, inserted, or deleted without abolishing biological or immunological activity may be found using computer programs well known in the art.

[0177] “Vector”, as used herein, refers to a self-replicating DNA or RNA molecule which transfers a nucleic acid segment between cells.

[0178] “Virion”, as used herein, refers to a particle composed of viral RNA and viral capsid protein.

[0179] “Virus”, as used herein, refers to an infectious agent composed of a nucleic acid encapsidated in a protein. A virus may be a mono-, di-, tri- or multipartite virus.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0180] A number of chemical compounds have been identified by others that cause dwarfing or stunting of plants (for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,045,459; 3,931,235; 3,947,264; and 3,818,046). However, the use of many of these chemical compounds in environmental settings is limited by their potential toxicity. Use of the nucleic acids and constructs described herein to dwarf or stunt plants avoids the problems associated with the release of toxic chemicals into the environment.

[0181] Accordingly, the present invention provides nucleic acid sequences that, when expressed in plants, cause stunting of plant growth. The present invention is not limited to a particular mechanism of action. Indeed, an understanding of the mechanism of action is necessary to practice the present invention. However, it is contemplated that the stunting phenotype is caused by either overexpression, antisense inhibition, or cosuppression mediated by expression of the nucleic sequence.

[0182] Genes that are demonstrated to effect growth regulation of the plant (stunting, elongation, etc) are useful for a number of purposes, including, but not limited to the following: a) Creation of dwarf varieties of any plant species; b) Creation of plants that have controlled meristematic growth such that a desired plant height or plant form is achieved; c) Creation of plants that have a lengthened vegetative phase of plant development to achieve increased plant mass and yield; d) Creation of plants that have a shortened vegetative phase of plant development to achieve yields in a short growing season; and e) Creation of plants that undergo senescence or programmed death at a desired time.

[0183] I. Identification of Nucleotide and Amino Acid Sequences

[0184] The invention is based on the discovery of putative known and unknown deoxyribose nucleic acid (DNA) and amino acid sequences identified in one or more metabolic pathways that lead to dwarfism and stunting in plants and the use of these sequences in agriculture to create dwarf varieties of any plant species.

[0185] Nucleic acids encoding the polypeptides of the present invention were first identified in Biosource clones generated from an ABRC cDNA library. The cDNA library had been constructed in the GENEWARE vector. The GENEWARE vector is described in U.S. application Ser. No. 09/008,186. Each of the complete set of clones from the GENEWARE library were used to prepare an infectious viral unit. An infectious unit corresponding to each clone was used to inoculate Nicotiana benthamiana (a dicotyledonous plant). The plants were grown under identical conditions and a phenotypic analysis of each plant was carried out. The stunting and dwarfing phenotype was observed in the plants that had been infected by infectious unit created from the nucleic acids of the present invention. In other embodiments, sequences causing an altered metabolism phenotype were identified.

[0186] Following the identification of the stunting phenotype in plant samples, further biochemical analyses of the infected plant s tissue were carried out. Function was ascertained by a determination of at least one variation produced in the metabolome of the infected plant using the analytical methodologies and data processing techniques described in the Examples section below. The nucleotide sequences of the present invention were analyzed using bioinformatics methods as described below.

[0187] II. Bioinformatics Methods

[0188] A. Phred, Phrap and Consed

[0189] Phred, Phrap and Consed are a set of programs which read DNA sequencer traces, make base calls, assemble the shotgun DNA sequence data and analyze the sequence regions that are likely to contribute to errors. Phred is the initial program used to read the sequencer trace data, call the bases and assign quality values to the bases. Phred uses a Fourier-based method to examine the base traces generated by the sequencer. The output files from Phred are written in FASTA, phd or scf format. Phrap is used to assemble contiguous sequences from only the highest quality portion of the sequence data output by Phred. Phrap is amenable to high-throughput data collection. Finally, Consed is used as a finishing tool to assign error probabilities to the sequence data. Detailed description of the Phred, Phrap and Consed software and its use can be found in the following references: Ewing et al., Genome Res., 8:175 [1998]; Ewing and Green, Genome Res. 8:186 [1998]; Gordon et al., Genome Res. 8: 195 [1998].

[0190] B. BLAST

[0191] The BLAST set of programs may be used to compare the large numbers of sequences and obtain homologies to known protein families. These homologies provide information regarding the function of newly sequenced genes. Detailed description of the BLAST software and its uses can be found in the following references Altschul et al., J. Mol. Biol., 215:403 [1990]; Altschul, J. Mol. Biol. 219:555 [1991].

[0192] Generally, BLAST performs sequence similarity searching and is divided into 5 basic subroutines: (1) BLASTP compares an amino acid sequence to a protein sequence database; (2) BLASTN compares a nucleotide sequence to a nucleic acid sequence database; (3) BLASTX compares translated protein sequences done in 6 frames to a protein sequence database; (4) TBLASTN compares a protein sequence to a nucleotide sequence database that is translated into all 6 reading frames; (5) TBLASTX compares the 6 frame translated protein sequence to the 6-frame translation of a nucleotide sequence database. Subroutines (3)-(5) may be used to identify weak similarities in nucleic acid sequence.

[0193] The BLAST program is based on the High Segment Pair (HSP), two sequence fragments of arbitrary but equal length whose alignment is locally maximized and whose alignment meets or exceeds a cutoff threshold. BLAST determines multiple HSP sets statistically using sum statistics. The score of the HSP is then related to its expected chance of frequency of occurrence, E. The value, E, is dependent on several factors such as the scoring system, residue composition of sequences, length of query sequence and total length of database. In the output file will be listed these E values, these are typically in a histogram format, and are useful in determining levels of statistical significance at the user s predefined expectation threshold. Finally, the Smallest Sum Probability, P(N) is the probability of observing the shown matched sequences by chance alone and is typically in the range of 0-1.

[0194] BLAST measures sequence similarity using a matrix of similarity scores for all possible pairs of residues and these specify scores for aligning pairs of amino acids. The matrix of choice for a specific use depends on several factors: the length of the query sequence and whether or not a close or distant relationship between sequences is suspected. Several matrices are available including PAM40, PAM120, PAM250, BLOSUM 62 and BLOSUM 50. Altschul et al. (1990) found PAM120 to be the most broadly sensitive matrix (for example point accepted mutation matrix per 100 residues). However, in some cases the PAM120 matrix may not find short but strong or long but weak similarities between sequences. In these cases, pairs of PAM matrices may be used, such as PAM40 and PAM 250, and the results compared. Typically, PAM 40 is used for database searching with a query of 9-21 residues long, while PAM 250 is used for lengths of 47-123.

[0195] The BLOSUM (Blocks Substitution Matrix) series of matrices are constructed based on percent identity between two sequence segments of interest. Thus, the BLOSUM62 matrix is based on a matrix of sequence segments in which the members are less than 62% identical. BLOSUM62 shows very good performance for BLAST searching. However, other BLOSUM matrices, like the PAM matrices, may be useful in other applications. For example, BLOSUM45 is particularly strong in profile searching.

[0196] C. FASTA

[0197] The FASTA suite of programs permits the evaluation of DNA and protein similarity based on local sequence alignment. The FASTA search algorithm utilizes Smith/Waterman- and Needleman/Wunsch-based optimization methods. These algorithms consider all of the alignment possibilities between the query sequence and the library in the highest-scoring sequence regions. The search algorithm proceeds in four basic steps:

[0198] 1. The identities or pairs of identities between the two DNA or protein sequences are determined. The ktup parameter, as set by the user, is operative and determines how many consecutive sequence identities are required to indicate a match.

[0199] 2. The regions identified in step 1 are re-scored using a PAM or BLOSUM matrix. This allows conservative replacements and runs of identities shorter than that specified by ktup to contribute to the similarity score.

[0200] 3. The region with the single best scoring initial region is used to characterize pairwise similarity and these scores are used to rank the library sequences.

[0201] 4. The highest scoring library sequences are aligned using the Smith-Waterman algorithm. This final comparison takes into account the possible alignments of the query and library sequence in the highest scoring region.

[0202] Further detailed description of the FASTA software and its use can be found in the following reference: Pearson and Lipman, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 85: 2444 [1988].

[0203] D. Pfam

[0204] Despite the large number of different protein sequences determined through genomics-based approaches, relatively few structural and functional domains are known. Pfam is a computational method that utilizes a collection of multiple alignments and profile hidden Markov models of protein domain families to classify existing and newly found protein sequences into structural families. Detailed description of the Pfam software and its uses can be found in the following references: Sonhammer et al., Proteins: Structure, Function and Genetics, 28:405 [1997]; Sonhammer et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 26:320 [1998]; Bateman et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 27: 260 [1999].

[0205] Pfam 3.1, the latest version, includes 54% of proteins in SWISS_PROT and SP-TrEMBL-5 as a match to the database and includes expectation values for matches. Pfam consists of parts A and B. Pfam-A contains a hidden Markov model and includes curated families. Pfam-B uses the Domainer program to cluster sequence segments not included in Pfam-A. Domainer uses pairwise homology data from Blastp to construct aligned families.

[0206] Alternative protein family databases that may be used include PRINTS and BLOCKS, which both are based on a set of ungapped blocks of aligned residues. However, these programs typically contain short conserved regions whereas Pfam represents a library of complete domains that facilitates automated annotation. Comparisons of Pfam profiles may also be performed using genomic and EST data with the programs, Genewise and ESTwise, respectively. Both of these programs allow for introns and frame shifting errors.

[0207] E. BLOCKS

[0208] The determination of sequence relationships between unknown sequences and those that have been categorized can be problematic because background noise increases with the number of sequences, especially at a low level of similarity detection. One recent approach to this problem has been tested that efficiently detects and confirms weak or distant relationships among protein sequences based on a database of blocks. The BLOCKS database provides multiple alignments of sequences and contains blocks or protein motifs found in known families of proteins.

[0209] Other programs such as PRINTS and Prodom also provide alignments, however, the BLOCKS database differs in the manner in which the database was constructed. Construction of the BLOCKS database proceeds as follows: one starts with a group of sequences that presumably have one or motifs in common, such as those from the PROSITE database. The PROTOMAT program then uses a motif finding program to scan sequences for similarity looking for spaced triplets of amino acids. The located blocks are then entered into the MOTOMAT program for block assembly. Weights are computed for all sequences. Following construction of a BLOCKS database one can use BLIMPS to performs searches of the BLOCKS database. Detailed description of the construction and use of a BLOCKS database can be found in the following references: Henikoff, S. and Henikoff, J. G., Genomics, 19:97 [1994]; Henikoff, J. G. and Henikoff, S., Meth. Enz., 266:88 [1996].

[0210] F. PRINTS

[0211] The PRINTS database of protein family fingerprints can be used in addition to BLOCKS and PROSITE. These databases are considered to be secondary databases because they diagnose the relationship between sequences that yield function information. Presently, however, it is not recommended that these databases be used alone. Rather, it is strongly suggested that these pattern databases be used in conjunction with each other so that a direct comparison of results can be made to analyze their robustness.

[0212] Generally, these programs utilize pattern recognition to discover motifs within protein sequences. However, PRINTS goes one step further, it takes into account not simply single motifs but several motifs simultaneously that might characterize a family signature. Other programs, such as PROSITE, rely on pattern recognition but are limited by the fact that query sequences must match them exactly. Thus, sequences that vary slightly will be missed. In contrast, the PRINTS database fingerprinting approach is capable of identifying distant relatives due to its reliance on the fact that sequences do not have match the query exactly. Instead they are scored according to how well they fit each motif in the signature. Another advantage of PRINTS is that it allows the user to search both PRINTS and PROSITE simultaneously. A detailed description of the use of PRINTS can be found in the following reference: Attwood et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 25: 212 [1997].

[0213] III. Nucleic Acid Sequences, Including Related, Variant, Altered and Extended Sequences

[0214] The invention encompasses nucleic acids, polypeptides encoded by the nucleic acid sequences, and polypeptide (for example, a polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid of the present invention) variants that retain the biological or other functional activity of the polypeptide of interest. A preferred polypeptide variant is one having at least 80%, and more preferably 90%, amino acid sequence identity to the amino acid sequence of interest. A most preferred polypeptide variant is one having at least 95% amino acid sequence identity to the polypeptide of interest.

[0215] In particularly preferred embodiments, the invention encompasses the polynucleotides comprising SEQ ID NOs:1-571. In particularly preferred embodiments, the nucleic acids are operably linked to an exogenous promoter (and in most preferred embodiments to a plant promoter) or present in a vector.

[0216] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that as a result of the degeneracy of the genetic code, a multitude of nucleotide sequences encoding a given polypeptide (for example, a polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid of the present invention), some bearing minimal homology to the nucleotide sequences of any known and naturally occurring gene, may be produced. Thus, the invention contemplates each and every possible variation of nucleotide sequence that could be made by selecting combinations based on possible codon choices. These combinations are made in accordance with the standard triplet genetic code as applied to the nucleotide sequence of the naturally occurring polypeptide, and all such variations are to be considered as being specifically disclosed.

[0217] Although nucleotide sequences which encode a given polypeptide (for example, a polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid of the present invention) and its variants are preferably capable of hybridizing to the nucleotide sequence of the naturally occurring polypeptide under appropriately selected conditions of stringency, it may be advantageous to produce nucleotide sequences encoding the polypeptide or its derivatives possessing a substantially different codon usage. Codons may be selected to increase the rate at which expression of the peptide occurs in a particular prokaryotic or eukaryotic host in accordance with the frequency with which particular codons are utilized by the host. Other reasons for substantially altering the nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide and its derivatives without altering the encoded amino acid sequences include the production of RNA transcripts having more desirable properties, such as a greater half-life, than transcripts produced from the naturally occurring sequence.

[0218] The invention also encompasses production of DNA sequences, or portions thereof, which encode a polypeptide and its derivatives, entirely by synthetic chemistry. After production, the synthetic sequence may be inserted into any of the many available expression vectors and cell systems using reagents that are well known in the art. Moreover, synthetic chemistry may be used to introduce mutations into a sequence encoding a polypeptide (for example, a polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid of the present invention) or any portion thereof.

[0219] Also encompassed by the invention are polynucleotide sequences that are capable of hybridizing to SEQ ID NOs:1-571 under various conditions of stringency (for example, low to high stringency). Hybridization conditions are based on the melting temperature T_(m) of the nucleic acid binding complex or probe, as taught in Wahl and Berger, Methods Enzymol., 152:399 [19871 and Kimmel Methods Enzymol., 152:507 [1987], and may be used at a defined stringency.

[0220] Altered nucleic acid sequences encoding a polypeptide include deletions, insertions, or substitutions of different nucleotides resulting in a polynucleotide that encodes the same or a functionally equivalent polypeptide. The encoded protein may also contain deletions, insertions, or substitutions of amino acid residues which produce a silent change and result in a functionally equivalent polypeptide. Deliberate amino acid substitutions may be made on the basis of similarity in polarity, charge, solubility, hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, and/or the amphipathic nature of the residues as long as the biological activity of the polypeptide is retained. For example, negatively charged amino acids may include aspartic acid and glutamic acid; positively charged amino acids may include lysine and arginine; and amino acids with uncharged polar head groups having similar hydrophilicity values may include leucine, isoleucine, and valine; glycine and alanine; asparagine and glutamine; serine and threonine; phenylalanine and tyrosine.

[0221] Also included within the scope of the present invention are alleles of the genes encoding polypeptides. As used herein, an “allele” or “allelic sequence” is an alternative form of the gene which may result from at least one mutation in the nucleic acid sequence. Alleles may result in altered mRNAs or polypeptides whose structure or function may or may- not be altered. Any given gene may have none, one, or many allelic forms. Common mutational changes which give rise to alleles are generally ascribed to natural deletions, additions, or substitutions of nucleotides. Each of these types of changes may occur alone, or in combination with the others, one or more times in a given sequence.

[0222] Methods for DNA sequencing which are well known and generally available in the art may be used to practice any embodiments of the invention. The methods may employ such enzymes as the Klenow fragment of DNA polymerase I, SEQUENASE (US Biochemical Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio), TAQ polymerase (U.S. Biochemical Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio), thermostable T7 polymerase (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, Chicago, Ill.), or combinations of recombinant polymerases and proofreading exonucleases such as the ELONGASE amplification system (Life Technologies, Rockville, Md.). Preferably, the process is automated with machines such as the MICROLAB 2200 (Hamilton Company, Reno, Nev.), PTC200 DNA Engine thermal cycler (MJ Research, Watertown, Mass.) and the ABI 377 DNA sequencer (Perkin Elmer).

[0223] The nucleic acid sequences encoding a polypeptide (for example, a polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid of the present invention) may be extended utilizing a partial nucleotide sequence and employing various methods known in the art to detect upstream sequences such as promoters and regulatory elements. For example, one method which may be employed, “restriction-site” PCR, uses universal primers to retrieve unknown sequence adjacent to a known locus (Sarkar, PCR Methods Applic. 2:31S [1993]). In particular, genomic DNA is first amplified in the presence of primer to linker sequence and a primer specific to the known region. The amplified sequences are then subjected to a second round of PCR with the same linker primer and another specific primer internal to the first one. Products of each round of PCR are transcribed with an appropriate RNA polymerase and sequenced using reverse transcriptase.

[0224] Inverse PCR may also be used to amplify or extend sequences using divergent primers based on a known region (Triglia et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 16:8186 [1988]). The primers may be designed using OLIGO 4.06 primer analysis software (National Biosciences Inc., Plymouth, Minn.), or another appropriate program, to be 22-30 nucleotides in length, to have a GC content of 50% or more, and to anneal to the target sequence at temperatures about 68-72 C. The method uses several restriction enzymes to generate a suitable fragment in the known region of a gene. The fragment is then circularized by intramolecular ligation and used as a PCR template.

[0225] Another method which may be used is capture PCR which involves PCR amplification of DNA fragments adjacent to a known sequence in human and yeast artificial chromosome DNA (Lagerstrom et al., PCR Methods Applic. 1:111 [1991]). In this method, multiple restriction enzyme digestions and ligations may also be used to place an engineered double-stranded sequence into an unknown portion of the DNA molecule before performing PCR.

[0226] Another method which may be used to retrieve unknown sequences is that of Parker et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 19:3055 [1991]. Additionally, one may use PCR, nested primers, and PROMOTERFINDER DNA Walking Kits libraries (Clontech, Palo Alto, Calif.) to walk in genomic DNA. This process avoids the need to screen libraries and is useful in finding intron/exon junctions.

[0227] When screening for full-length cDNAs, it is preferable to use libraries that have been size-selected to include larger cDNAs. Also, random-primed libraries are preferable, in that they will contain more sequences which contain the 5′ regions of genes. Use of a randomly primed library may be especially preferable for situations in which an oligo d(T) library does not yield a full-length cDNA. Genomic libraries may be useful for extension of sequence into the 5′ and 3′ non-transcribed regulatory regions.

[0228] Capillary electrophoresis systems which are commercially available (for example, from PE Biosystems, Inc., Foster City, Calif.) may be used to analyze the size or confirm the nucleotide sequence of sequencing or PCR products. In particular, capillary sequencing may employ flowable polymers for electrophoretic separation, four different fluorescent dyes (one for each nucleotide) which are laser activated, and detection of the emitted wavelengths by a charge coupled device camera. Output/light intensity may be converted to electrical signal using appropriate software (for example, GENOTYPER and SEQUENCE NAVIGATOR from PE Biosystems, Foster City, Calif.) and the entire process from loading of samples to computer analysis and electronic data display may be computer controlled. Capillary electrophoresis is especially preferable for the sequencing of small pieces of DNA which might be present in limited amounts in a particular sample.

[0229] It is contemplated that the nucleic acids disclosed herein can be utilized as starting nucleic acids for directed evolution. In some embodiments, artificial evolution is performed by random mutagenesis (for example, by utilizing error-prone PCR to introduce random mutations into a given coding sequence). This method requires that the frequency of mutation be finely tuned. As a general rule, beneficial mutations are rare, while deleterious mutations are common. This is because the combination of a deleterious mutation and a beneficial mutation often results in an inactive enzyme. The ideal number of base substitutions for targeted gene is usually between 1.5 and 5 (Moore and Arnold, Nat. Biotech., 14, 458-67 [1996]; Leung et al., Technique, 1:11-15 [1989]; Eckert and Kunkel, PCR Methods Appl., 1:17-24 [1991]; Caldwell and Joyce, PCR Methods Appl., 2:28-33 (1992); and Zhao and Arnold, Nuc. Acids. Res., 25:1307-08 [1997]). After mutagenesis, the resulting clones are selected for desirable activity. Successive rounds of mutagenesis and selection are often necessary to develop enzymes with desirable properties. It should be noted that only the useful mutations are carried over to the next round of mutagenesis.

[0230] In other embodiments of the present invention, the polynucleotides of the present invention are used in gene shuffling or sexual PCR procedures (for example, Smith, Nature, 370:324-25 [1994]; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,837,458; 5,830,721; 5,811,238; and 5,733,731). Gene shuffling involves random fragmentation of several mutant DNAs followed by their reassembly by PCR into full length molecules. Examples of various gene shuffling procedures include, but are not limited to, assembly following DNase treatment, the staggered extension process (STEP), and random priming in vitro recombination. In the DNase mediated method, DNA segments isolated from a pool of positive mutants are cleaved into random fragments with DNaseI and subjected to multiple rounds of PCR with no added primer. The lengths of random fragments approach that of the uncleaved segment as the PCR cycles proceed, resulting in mutations in present in different clones becoming mixed and accumulating in some of the resulting sequences. Multiple cycles of selection and shuffling have led to the functional enhancement of several enzymes (Stemmer, Nature, 370:398-91 [1994]; Stemmer, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 91, 10747-51 [1994]; Crameri et al., Nat. Biotech., 14:315-19 [1996]; Zhang et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 94:4504-09 [1997]; and Crameri et al., Nat. Biotech., 15:436-38 [1997]).

[0231] IV. Vectors, Engineering, and Expression of Sequences

[0232] In another embodiment of the invention, polynucleotide sequences or fragments thereof which encode polypeptides, or fusion proteins or functional equivalents thereof, may be used in recombinant DNA molecules to direct expression of a polypeptide in appropriate host cells. Due to the inherent degeneracy of the genetic code, other DNA sequences which encode substantially the same or a functionally equivalent amino acid sequence may be produced and these sequences may be used to clone and express polypeptides (for example, a polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid of the present invention).

[0233] As will be understood by those of skill in the art, it may be advantageous to produce nucleotide sequences possessing non-naturally occurring codons. For example, codons preferred by a particular prokaryotic or eukaryotic host can be selected to increase the rate of protein expression or to produce a recombinant RNA transcript having desirable properties, such as a half-life which is longer than that of a transcript generated from the naturally occurring sequence.

[0234] The nucleotide sequences of the present invention can be engineered using methods generally known in the art in order to alter the polypeptide sequences for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to, alterations which modify the cloning, processing, and/or expression of the gene product. DNA shuffling by random fragmentation and PCR reassembly of gene fragments and synthetic oligonucleotides may be used to engineer the nucleotide sequences. For example, site-directed mutagenesis may be used to insert new restriction sites, alter glycosylation patterns, change codon preference, produce splice variants, or introduce mutations, and so forth.

[0235] In another embodiment of the invention, natural, modified, or recombinant nucleic acid sequences encoding a polypeptide may be ligated to a heterologous sequence to encode a fusion protein. For example, to screen peptide libraries for inhibitors of the polypeptides activity (for example, enzymatic activity), it may be useful to encode a chimeric protein that can be recognized by a commercially available antibody. A fusion protein may also be engineered to contain a cleavage site located between the polypeptide encoding sequence and the heterologous protein sequence, so that the polypeptide of interest may be cleaved and purified away from the heterologous moiety.

[0236] In another embodiment, sequences encoding a polypeptide (for example, a polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid of the present invention) may be synthesized, in whole or in part, using chemical methods well known in the art (See for example, Caruthers et al., Nucl. Acids Res. Symp. Ser. 215 [1980]; Hom et al., Nucl. Acids Res. Symp. Ser. 225 [1980]). Alternatively, the protein itself may be produced using chemical methods to synthesize the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide of interest (for example, a polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid of the present invention), or a portion thereof. For example, peptide synthesis can be performed using various solid-phase techniques (Roberge et al., Science 269:202 [1995]) and automated synthesis may be achieved, for example, using the ABI 43 1A peptide synthesizer (PE Corporation, Norwalk, Conn.).

[0237] The newly synthesized peptide may be substantially purified by preparative high performance liquid chromatography (See for example, Creighton, T. (1983) Proteins, Structures and Molecular Principles, WH Freeman and Co., New York, N.Y.). The composition of the synthetic peptides may be confirmed by amino acid analysis or sequencing (for example, the Edman degradation procedure; or Creighton, supra). Additionally, the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide of interest or any part thereof, may be altered during direct synthesis and/or combined using chemical methods with sequences from other proteins, or any part thereof, to produce a variant polypeptide.

[0238] In order to express a biologically active polypeptide (for example, a polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid of the present invention), the nucleotide sequences encoding the polypeptide or functional equivalents, may be inserted into appropriate expression vector, that is, a vector which contains the necessary elements for the transcription and translation of the inserted coding sequence.

[0239] Methods which are well known to those skilled in the art may be used to construct expression vectors containing sequences encoding polypeptides (for example, a polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid of the present invention) and appropriate transcriptional and translational control elements. These methods include in vitro recombinant DNA techniques, synthetic techniques, and in vivo genetic recombination. Such techniques are described in Sambrook. et al. (1989) Molecular Cloning, A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Press, Plainview, N.Y., and Ausubel, F. M. et al. (1989) Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, John Wiley & Sons, New York, N.Y.

[0240] A variety of expression vector/host systems may be utilized to contain and express sequences encoding a polypeptide of interest. These include, but are not limited to, microorganisms such as bacteria transformed with recombinant bacteriophage, plasmid, or cosmid DNA expression vectors; yeast transformed with yeast expression vectors; insect cell systems infected with virus expression vectors (for example, baculovirus); plant cell systems transformed with virus expression vectors (for example, cauliflower mosaic virus, CaMV; tobacco mosaic virus, TMV; brome mosaic virus) or with bacterial expression vectors (for example, Ti or pBR322 plasmids); or animal cell systems.

[0241] The “control elements” or “regulatory sequences” are those non-translated regions of the vector—enhancers, promoters, 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions—which interact with host cellular proteins to carry out transcription and translation. Such elements may vary in their strength and specificity. Depending on the vector system and host utilized, any number of suitable transcription and translation elements, including constitutive and inducible promoters, may be used. For example, when cloning in bacterial systems, inducible promoters such as the hybrid lacZ promoter of the BLUESCRIPT phagemid (Stratagene, LaJolla, Calif.) or PSPORT1 plasmid (Life Technologies, Inc., Rockville, Md.) and the like may be used. The baculovirus polyhedrin promoter may be used in insect cells. Promoters or enhancers derived from the genomes of plant cells (for example, heat shock, RUBISCO; and storage protein genes) or from plant viruses (for example, viral promoters or leader sequences) may be cloned into the vector. In mammalian cell systems, promoters from mammalian genes or from mammalian viruses are preferable. If it is necessary to generate a cell line that contains multiple copies of the sequence encoding a polypeptide, vectors based on SV40 or EBV may be used with an appropriate selectable marker.

[0242] In bacterial systems, a number of expression vectors may be selected depending upon the use intended for the polypeptide of interest. For example, when large quantities of the polypeptide are needed for the induction of antibodies, vectors which direct high level expression of fusion proteins that are readily purified may be used. Such vectors include, but are not limited to, the multifunctional E. coli cloning and expression vectors such as BLUESCRIPT phagemid (Stratagene, La Jolla, Calif.), in which the sequence encoding the polypeptide of interest may be ligated into the vector in frame with sequences for the amino-terminal Met and the subsequent 7 residues of beta-galactosidase so that a hybrid protein is produced; pIN vectors (Van Heeke and Schuster, J. Biol. Chem. 264:5503 [1989]; and the like. pGEMX vectors (Promega Corporation, Madison, Wis.) may also be used to express foreign polypeptides as fusion proteins with glutathione S-transferase (GST). In general, such fusion proteins are soluble and can easily be purified from lysed cells by adsorption to glutathione-agarose beads followed by elution in the presence of free glutathione. Proteins made in such systems may be designed to include heparin, thrombin, or factor XA protease cleavage sites so that the cloned polypeptide of interest can be released from the GST moiety at will.

[0243] In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a number of vectors containing constitutive or inducible promoters such as alpha factor, alcohol oxidase, and PGH may be used. For reviews, See for example, Ausubel et al. (supra) and Grant et al., Methods Enzymol. 153:516 [1987].

[0244] In cases where plant expression vectors are used, the expression of sequences encoding polypeptides may be driven by any of a number of promoters. In a preferred embodiment, plant vectors are created using a recombinant plant virus containing a recombinant plant viral nucleic acid, as described in PCT publication WO 96/40867. Subsequently, the recombinant plant viral nucleic acid which contains one or more non-native nucleic acid sequences may be transcribed or expressed in the infected tissues of the plant host and the product of the coding sequences may be recovered from the plant, as described in WO 99/36516.

[0245] An important feature of this embodiment is the use of recombinant plant viral nucleic acids which contain one or more non-native subgenomic promoters capable of transcribing or expressing adjacent nucleic acid sequences in the plant host and which result in replication and local and/or systemic spread in a compatible plant host. The recombinant plant viral nucleic acids have substantial sequence homology to plant viral nucleotide sequences and may be derived from an RNA, DNA, cDNA or a chemically synthesized RNA or DNA. A partial listing of suitable viruses is described below.

[0246] The first step in producing recombinant plant viral nucleic acids according to this particular embodiment is to modify the nucleotide sequences of the plant viral nucleotide sequence by known conventional techniques such that one or more non-native subgenomic promoters are inserted into the plant viral nucleic acid without destroying the biological function of the plant viral nucleic acid. The native coat protein coding sequence may be deleted in some embodiments, placed under the control of a non-native subgenomic promoter in other embodiments, or retained in a further embodiment. If it is deleted or otherwise inactivated, a non-native coat protein gene is inserted under control of one of the non-native subgenomic promoters, or optionally under control of the native coat protein gene subgenomic promoter. The non-native coat protein is capable of encapsidating the recombinant plant viral nucleic acid to produce a recombinant plant virus. Thus, the recombinant plant viral nucleic acid contains a coat protein coding sequence, which may be native or a normative coat protein coding sequence, under control of one of the native or non-native subgenomic promoters. The coat protein is involved in the systemic infection of the plant host.

[0247] Some of the viruses which meet this requirement include viruses from the tobamovirus group such as Tobacco Mosaic virus (TMV), Ribgrass Mosaic Virus (RGM), Cowpea Mosaic virus (CMV), Alfalfa Mosaic virus (AMV), Cucumber Green Mottle Mosaic virus watermelon strain (CGMMV-W) and Oat Mosaic virus (OMV) and viruses from the brome mosaic virus group such as Brome Mosaic virus (BMV), broad bean mottle virus and cowpea chlorotic mottle virus. Additional suitable viruses include Rice Necrosis virus (RNV), and geminiviruses such as tomato golden mosaic virus (TGMV), Cassaya latent virus (CLV) and maize streak virus (MSV). However, the invention should not be construed as limited to using these particular viruses, but rather the method of the present invention is contemplated to include all plant viruses at a minimum.

[0248] Other embodiments of plant vectors used for the expression of sequences encoding polypeptides include, for example, viral promoters such as the 35S and 19S promoters of CaMV used alone or in combination with the omega leader sequence from TMV (Takamatsu, EMBO J. 6:307 [1987]). Alternatively, plant promoters such as the small subunit of RUBISCO or heat shock promoters may be used (Coruzzi et al., EMBO J. 3:1671 [1984]; Broglie et al., Science 224:838 [1984]; and Winter et al., Results Probl. Cell Differ. 17:85 [1991]). These constructs can be introduced into plant cells by direct DNA transformation or pathogen-mediated transfection. Such techniques are described in a number of generally available reviews (See for example, Hobbs, S. or Murry, L. E. in McGraw Hill Yearbook of Science and Technology (1992) McGraw Hill, New York, N.Y.; pp. 191-196.

[0249] An insect system may also be used to express polypeptides (for example, a polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid of the present invention). For example, in one such system, Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcNPV) is used as a vector to express foreign genes in Spodoptera frugiperda cells or in Trichoplusia larvae. The sequences encoding a polypeptide of interest may be cloned into a non-essential region of the virus, such as the polyhedrin gene, and placed under control of the polyhedrin promoter. Successful insertion of the nucleic acid sequence encoding the polypeptide of interest will render the polyhedrin gene inactive and produce recombinant virus lacking coat protein. The recombinant viruses may then be used to infect, for example, S. frugiperda cells or Trichoplusia larvae in which the polypeptide may be expressed (Engelhard et al., Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 91:3224 [1994]).

[0250] In mammalian host cells, a number of viral-based expression systems may be utilized. In cases where an adenovirus is used as an expression vector, sequences encoding polypeptides may be ligated into an adenovirus transcription/translation complex consisting of the late promoter and tripartite leader sequence. Insertion in a non-essential E1 or E3 region of the viral genome may be used to obtain a viable virus which is capable of expressing the polypeptide in infected host cells (Logan and Shenk, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 81:3655 [1984]). In addition, transcription enhancers, such as the Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) enhancer, may be used to increase expression in mammalian host cells.

[0251] Specific initiation signals may also be used to achieve more efficient translation of sequences encoding the polypeptide of interest. Such signals include the ATG initiation codon and adjacent sequences. In cases where sequences encoding the polypeptide of interest, its initiation codon, and upstream sequences are inserted into the appropriate expression vector, no additional transcriptional or translational control signals may be needed. However, in cases where only coding sequence, or a portion thereof, is inserted, exogenous translational control signals including the ATG initiation codon should be provided. Furthermore, the initiation codon should be in the correct reading frame to ensure translation of the entire insert. Exogenous translational elements and initiation codons may be of various origins, both natural and synthetic. The efficiency of expression may be enhanced by the inclusion of enhancers which are appropriate for the particular cell system which is used, such as those described in the literature (Scharf et al., Results Probl. Cell Differ., 20:125 [1994]).

[0252] In addition, a host cell strain may be chosen for its ability to modulate the expression of the inserted sequences or to process the expressed protein in the desired fashion. Such modifications of the polypeptide include, but are not limited to, acetylation, carboxylation, glycosylation, phosphorylation, lipidation, and acylation. Post-translational processing which cleaves a “prepro” form of the protein may also be used to facilitate correct insertion, folding and/or function. Different host cells such as CHO, HeLa, MDCK, HEK293, and WI38, which have specific cellular machinery and characteristic mechanisms for such post-translational activities, may be chosen to ensure the correct modification and processing of the foreign protein.

[0253] For long-term, high-yield production of recombinant proteins, stable expression is preferred. For example, cell lines which stably express the polypeptide of interest (for example, a polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid of the present invention) may be transformed using expression vectors which may contain viral origins of replication and/or endogenous expression elements and a selectable marker gene on the same or on a separate vector. Following the introduction of the vector, cells may be allowed to grow for 1-2 days in an enriched media before they are switched to selective media. The purpose of the selectable marker is to confer resistance to selection, and its presence allows growth and recovery of cells which successfully express the introduced sequences. Resistant clones of stably transformed cells may be proliferated using tissue culture techniques appropriate to the cell type.

[0254] Any number of selection systems may be used to recover transformed cell lines. These include, but are not limited to, the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (Wigler et al., Cell 11:223 [1977]) and adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (Lowy et al., Cell 22:817 [1980]) genes which can be employed in tk⁻ or aprt⁻ cells, respectively. Also, antimetabolite, antibiotic, or herbicide resistance can be used as the basis for selection; for example, dhfr, which confers resistance to methotrexate (Wigler et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 77:3567 [1980]); npt, which confers resistance to the aminoglycosides neomycin and G-418 (Colbere-Garapin et al., J. Mol. Biol., 150:1 [1981]); and als or pat, which confer resistance to chlorsulfuron and phosphinotricin acetyltransferase, respectively (Murry, supra). Additional selectable genes have been described, for example, trpB, which allows cells to utilize indole in place of tryptophan, or hisD, which allows cells to utilize histinol in place of histidine (Hartman. and Mulligan, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 85:8047 [1988]). Recently, the use of visible markers has gained popularity with such markers as anthocyanins, α-glucuronidase and its substrate GUS, and luciferase and its substrate luciferin, being widely used not only to identify transformants, but also to quantify the amount of transient or stable protein expression attributable to a specific vector system (Rhodes et al., Methods Mol. Biol., 55:121 [1995]).

[0255] Although the presence/absence of marker gene expression suggests that the gene of interest is also present, its presence and expression may need to be confirmed. For example, if the sequence encoding a polypeptide is inserted within a marker gene sequence, recombinant cells containing sequences encoding the polypeptide can be identified by the absence of marker gene function. Alternatively, a marker gene can be placed in tandem with a sequence encoding the polypeptide under the control of a single promoter. Expression of the marker gene in response to induction or selection usually indicates expression of the tandem gene as well.

[0256] Alternatively, host cells which contain the nucleic acid sequence encoding the polypeptide of interest (for example, a polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid of the present invention) and express the polypeptide may be identified by a variety of procedures known to those of skill in the art. These procedures include, but are not limited to, DNA-DNA or DNA-RNA hybridizations and protein bioassay or immunoassay techniques which include membrane, solution, or chip based technologies for the detection and/or quantification of nucleic acid or protein.

[0257] The presence of polynucleotide sequences encoding a polypeptide of interest (for example, a polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid of the present invention) can be detected by DNA-DNA or DNA-RNA hybridization or amplification using probes or portions or fragments of polynucleotides encoding the polypeptide. Nucleic acid amplification based assays involve the use of oligonucleotides or oligomers based on the sequences encoding the polypeptide to detect transformants containing DNA or RNA encoding the polypeptide. As used herein “oligonucleotides” or “oligomers” refer to a nucleic acid sequence of at least about 10 nucleotides and as many as about 60 nucleotides, preferably about 15 to 30 nucleotides, and more preferably about 20-25 nucleotides, which can be used as a probe or amplimer.

[0258] A variety of protocols for detecting and measuring the expression of a polypeptide (for example, a polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid of the present invention), using either polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies specific for the protein are known in the art. Examples include enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), radioimmunoassay (RIA), and fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS). A two-site, monoclonal-based immunoassay utilizing monoclonal antibodies reactive to two non-interfering epitopes on the polypeptide is preferred, but a competitive binding assay may be employed. These and other assays are described, among other places, in Hampton et al., 1990; Serological Methods, a Laboratory Manual, APS Press, St Paul, Minn. and Maddox et al., J. Exp. Med., 158:1211 [1983]).

[0259] A wide variety of labels and conjugation techniques are known by those skilled in the art and may be used in various nucleic acid and amino acid assays. Means for producing labeled hybridization or PCR probes for detecting sequences related to polynucleotides encoding a polypeptide of interest include oligonucleotide labeling, nick translation, end-labeling or PCR amplification using a labeled nucleotide. Alternatively, the sequences encoding the polypeptide, or any portions thereof may be cloned into a vector for the production of an mRNA probe. Such vectors are known in the art, are commercially available, and may be used to synthesize RNA probes in vitro by addition of an appropriate RNA polymerase such as T7, T3, or SP6 and labeled nucleotides. These procedures may be conducted using a variety of commercially available kits from Pharmacia & Upjohn (Kalamazoo, Mich.), Promega Corporation (Madison, Wis.) and U.S. Biochemical Corp. (Cleveland, Ohio). Suitable reporter molecules or labels, which may be used, include radionuclides, enzymes, fluorescent, chemiluminescent, or chromogenic agents as well as substrates, cofactors, inhibitors, magnetic particles, and the like.

[0260] Host cells transformed with nucleotide sequences encoding a polypeptide of interest may be cultured under conditions suitable for the expression and recovery of the protein from cell culture. The protein produced by a recombinant cell may be secreted or contained intracellularly depending on the sequence and/or the vector used. As will be understood by those of skill in the art, expression vectors containing polynucleotides which encode the polypeptide of interest (for example, a polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid of the present invention) may be designed to contain signal sequences which direct secretion of the polypeptide through a prokaryotic or eukaryotic cell membrane. Other recombinant constructions may be used to join sequences encoding the polypeptide to nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide domain which will facilitate purification of soluble proteins. Such purification facilitating domains include, but are not limited to, metal chelating peptides such as histidine-tryptophan modules that allow purification on immobilized metals, protein A domains that allow purification on immobilized immunoglobulin, and the domaim utilized in the FLAGS extension/affinity purification system (Immunex Corp., Seattle, Wash.). The inclusion of cleavable linker sequences such as those specific for Factor XA or enterokinase (available from Invitrogen, San Diego, Calif.) between the purification domain and the polypeptide of interest may be used to facilitate purification. One such expression vector provides for expression of a fusion protein containing the polypeptide of interest and a nucleic acid encoding 6 histidine residues preceding a thioredoxin or an enterokinase cleavage site. The histidine residues facilitate purification on IMIAC (immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography) as described in Porath et al., Prot. Exp. Purif., 3:263 [1992] while the enterokinase cleavage site provides a means for purifying the polypeptide from the fusion protein. A discussion of vectors which contain fusion proteins is provided in Kroll et al., DNA Cell Biol., 12:441 [1993]).

[0261] In addition to recombinant production, fragments of the polypeptide of interest may be produced by direct peptide synthesis using solid-phase techniques (Merrifield, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 85:2149 [1963]). Protein synthesis may be performed using manual techniques or by automation. Automated synthesis may be achieved, for example, using the Applied Biosystems 431A peptide synthesizer (Perkin Elmer). Various fragments of the polypeptide may be chemically synthesized separately and combined using chemical methods to produce the full length molecule.

[0262] V. Altering of Gene Expression

[0263] It is contemplated that the polynucleotides of the present invention (for example, SEQ ID NOs:1-571) may be utilized to either increase or decrease the level of corresponding mRNA and/or protein in transfected cells as compared to the levels in wild-type cells. Accordingly, in some embodiments, expression in plants by the methods described above leads to the overexpression of the polypeptide of interest in transgenic plants, plant tissues, or plant cells. The present invention is not limited to any particular mechanism. Indeed, an understanding of a mechanism is not required to practice the present invention. However, it is contemplated that overexpression of the polynucleotides of the present invention will alter the expression of the gene comprising the nucleic acid sequence of the present invention.

[0264] In other embodiments of the present invention, the polynucleotides are utilized to decrease the level of the protein or mRNA of interest in transgenic plants, plant tissues, or plant cells as compared to wild-type plants, plant tissues, or plant cells. One method of reducing protein expression utilizes expression of antisense transcripts (for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,031,154; 5,453,566; 5,451,514; 5,859,342; and 4,801,340). Antisense RNA has been used to inhibit plant target genes in a tissue-specific manner (for example, Van der Krol et al., Biotechniques 6:958-976 [1988]). Antisense inhibition has been shown using the entire cDNA sequence as well as a partial cDNA sequence (for example, Sheehy et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85:8805-8809 [1988]; Cannon et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 15:39-47 [1990]). There is also evidence that 3′ non-coding sequence fragment and 5′ coding sequence fragments, containing as few as 41 base-pairs of a 1.87 kb cDNA, can play important roles in antisense inhibition (Ch'ng et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86:10006-10010 [1989]).

[0265] Accordingly, in some embodiments, the nucleic acids of the present invention (for example, SEQ ID NOs: 1-571, and fragments and variants thereof) are oriented in a vector and expressed so as to produce antisense transcripts. To accomplish this, a nucleic acid segment from the desired gene is cloned and operably linked to a promoter such that the antisense strand of RNA will be transcribed. The expression cassette is then transformed into plants and the antisense strand of RNA is produced. The nucleic acid segment to be introduced generally will be substantially identical to at least a portion of the endogenous gene or genes to be repressed. The sequence, however, need not be perfectly identical to inhibit expression. The vectors of the present invention can be designed such that the inhibitory effect applies to other proteins within a family of genes exhibiting homology or substantial homology to the target gene.

[0266] Furthermore, for antisense suppression, the introduced sequence also need not be full length relative to either the primary transcription product or fully processed mRNA. Generally, higher homology can be used to compensate for the use of a shorter sequence. Furthermore, the introduced sequence need not have the same intron or exon pattern, and homology of non-coding segments may be equally effective. Normally, a sequence of between about 30 or 40 nucleotides and up to about the full length full length of the coding region should be used, although a sequence of at least about 100 nucleotides is preferred, a sequence of at least about 200 nucleotides is more preferred, and a sequence of at least about 500 nucleotides is especially preferred.

[0267] Catalytic RNA molecules or ribozymes can also be used to inhibit expression of the target gene or genes. It is possible to design ribozymes that specifically pair with virtually any target RNA and cleave the phosphodiester backbone at a specific location, thereby functionally inactivating the target RNA. In carrying out this cleavage, the ribozyme is not itself altered, and is thus capable of recycling and cleaving other molecules, making it a true enzyme. The inclusion of ribozyme sequences within antisense RNAs confers RNA-cleaving activity upon them, thereby increasing the activity of the constructs.

[0268] A number of classes of ribozymes have been identified. One class of ribozymes is derived from a number of small circular RNAs which are capable of self-cleavage and replication in plants. The RNAs replicate either alone (viroid RNAs) or with a helper virus (satellite RNAs). Examples include RNAs from avocado sunblotch viroid and the satellite RNAs from tobacco ringspot virus, lucerne transient streak virus, velvet tobacco mottle virus, Solanum nodiflorum mottle virus and subterranean clover mottle virus. The design and use of target RNA-specific ribozymes is described in Haseloff, et al., Nature 334:585-591 (1988).

[0269] Another method of reducing protein expression utilizes the phenomenon of cosuppression or gene silencing (for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,063,947; 5,686,649; and 5,283,184). The phenomenon of cosuppression has also been used to inhibit plant target genes in a tissue-specific manner. Cosuppression of an endogenous gene using a full-length cDNA sequence as well as a partial cDNA sequence (730 bp of a 1770 bp cDNA) are known (for example, Napoli et al., Plant Cell 2:279-289 [1990]; van der Krol et al., Plant Cell 2:291-299 [1990]; Smith et al., Mol. Gen. Genetics 224:477-481 [1990]). Accordingly, in some embodiments the nucleic acids (for example, SEQ ID NOs: 1-571, and fragments and variants thereof) from one species of plant are expressed in another species of plant to effect cosuppression of a homologous gene. Generally, where inhibition of expression is desired, some transcription of the introduced sequence occurs. The effect may occur where the introduced sequence contains no coding sequence per se, but only mtron or untranslated sequences homologous to sequences present in the primary transcript of the endogenous sequence. The introduced sequence generally will be substantially identical to the endogenous sequence intended to be repressed. This minimal identity will typically be greater than about 65%, but a higher identity might exert a more effective repression of expression of the endogenous sequences. Substantially greater identity of more than about 80% is preferred, though about 95% to absolute identity would be most preferred. As with antisense regulation, the effect should apply to any other proteins within a similar family of genes exhibiting homology or substantial homology.

[0270] For cosuppression, the introduced sequence in the expression cassette, needing less than absolute identity, also need not be full length, relative to either the primary transcription product or fully processed mRNA. This may be preferred to avoid concurrent production of some plants which are overexpressers. A higher identity in a shorter than full length sequence compensates for a longer, less identical sequence. Furthermore, the introduced sequence need not have the same intron or exon pattern, and identity of non-coding segments will be equally effective. Normally, a sequence of the size ranges noted above for antisense regulation is used.

[0271] VI. Expression of Sequences Producing Stunting Phenotype

[0272] The present invention provides nucleic sequences involved in stunting of growth in plants. Plants transformed with viral vectors comprising the nucleic acid sequences of the present invention were screened for a stunting phenotype (see Examples 10 and 18). Accordingly, in some embodiments, the present invention provides nucleic acid sequences that produce a stunting phenotype when expressed in plant. The present invention is not limited to the particular nucleic acid sequences listed. Indeed, it contemplated that nucleic acid sequences which hybridize to the listed nucleic sequences under conditions ranging from low to high stringency and which also cause the stunting phenotype. These sequences are conveniently identified by insertion into GENEWARE vectors and expression in plants as detailed in the examples. Accordingly, in particularly preferred embodiments, the sequences that produce a stunting phenotype, include, but are not limited to, SEQ ID NOs: 47, 58, 336, 288, 291, 297, 302, 304, 313, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 331, 332 and sequences that hybridize to these sequences under conditions of low to high stringency. In some embodiments, the sequences are operably linked to a plant promoter or provided in a vector as described in more detail above. Furthermore, the sequences can be expressed in either sense or antisense orientation. In particularly preferred embodiments, the sequences are at least 30 nucleotides in length up to the length of the full-length of the corresponding gene. It is contemplated that sequences of less than full length (for example, greater than about 30 nucleotides) are useful for down regulation of gene expression via antisense or cosuppression. Suitable sequences are selected by chemically synthesizing the sequences, cloning into GENEWARE expression vectors, expressing in plants, and selecting plants with a stunting phenotype.

[0273] VII. Characterization of Metabolic Hits

[0274] In some embodiments, the present invention provides novel methods for the characterization of the chemical nature of genetic modifications made in tobacco plants using GENEWARE viral vector technology or other expression technologies. The methods comprise separating fractions from leaf extracts of plants transfected with nucleic acid sequences of the present invention using chromatographic and mass spectroscopy techniques, followed by searching a series of databases.

[0275] In some embodiments, the characterization is performed on samples identified as metabolic hits (as described above and in Example 19). In some embodiments, samples are labeled with a bar code to facilitate tracking and database searching. Samples are first separated using chromatography (for example, gas chromatography (GC)), followed by mass spectroscopy (MS). The present invention is not limited to a particular GC/MS system. Any suitable analysis system may be utilized, including but not limited to, those commercially available from Agilent Technologies, Hewllet Packard, Leap Technologies, and APEX.

[0276] In preferred embodiments, internal standards are added to the samples prior to analysis. The internal standards utilized are specific to the leaf Fraction analyzed. For example, in some embodiments, fraction 1 (See Example 19 for a description of component of fractions) is analyzed using the internal standards Pentacosane and Hexatriacontane, Fraction 2 is analyzed using Undecanoic acid, methyl ester and Tetracosanoic acid, methyl ester as internal standards, and Fraction 3 is analyzed using n-Octyl-β-D-Glucopyranoside. In some embodiments, certain fractions (for example, those containing lipids or highly polar water-soluble molecules) are derivatized prior to analysis to make certain components more amenable to gas chromatography. The present invention is not limited to the analysis of the fractions described herein. Any separated solution containing biological macromolecules (for example, proteins, lipid, and carbohydrates) may be analyzed using the methods of the present invention. GC/MS may be performed using any suitable protocol, including but not limited to, those described in Example 20 below. In preferred embodiments, instrument performance standards are analyzed alone with fractionated sample (see Example 20 for examples of suitable standards).

[0277] In some embodiments, sample and Reference data sets are next processed using the Bioinformatics computer program Maxwell (The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Mich.). The principal elements of the program are 1) Data Reduction, 2) two-dimensional Peak Matching, 3) Quantitative Peak Differentiation (Determination of Relative Quantitative Change), 4) Peak Identification, 5) Data Sorting, and 6) Customized Reporting.

[0278] The program first queries the user for the filenames of the Reference data set and Sample data set(s) to compare against the Reference. The program then integrates the Total Ion Chromatogram (TIC) of the data sets using (for example, using Agilent Technologies HP ChemStation integrator parameters). In preferred embodiments, parameters for integration are determined by the analyst. The corresponding raw peak areas are then normalized to the respective Internal Standard peak area. Peak tables from the Reference and each Sample are then generated. The peak tables are comprised of retention time (RT), retention index (RI)—the retention time relative to the Internal Standard RT, raw peak areas, peak areas normalized to the Internal Standard, and other pertinent information.

[0279] In preferred embodiments, following peak identification, one or more (preferably two) filtering steps are employed. In some embodiments, filtering criteria are established by the analyst and must be met before a peak is further analyzed. In some embodiments, the first filtering criterion is based upon a peak-'s normalized area. All normalized peaks having values below the Limit of Processing for Peak Matching (LOP-PM), are considered to be “background.” In preferred embodiments, background peaks are not carried forward for any type of mathematical calculation or spectral comparison.

[0280] In some embodiments, an initial peak-matching step, comprising comparing the Sample peak table to the Reference peak table pairing peaks based upon their respective RI values matching one another (within a given variable window) is conducted. In some embodiments, the next step in the peak matching routine comprises a spectral comparison of Sample and Reference peaks that have been chromatographically. The spectral matching is performed using a mass spectral cross-correlation algorithm within the Agilent Technologies HP ChemStation software. The cross-correlation algorithm generates an equivalence value based upon spectral “fit” that is used to determine whether the chromatographically matched peaks are spectrally similar or not. This equivalence value is referred to as the MS-XCR value and must meet or exceed a predetermined value for a pair of peaks to be “MATCHED,” which means they appear to be the same compound in both the Reference and the Sample. The MS-XCR value can also be used to judge peak purity.

[0281] In preferred embodiments, the two-dimensional peak matching process is repeated until all potential peak matches were processed. At the end of the process, peaks are categorized into two categories, MATCHED and UNMATCHED.

[0282] In some embodiments, a second filtering criterion is next invoked. The second filtering step is also based upon the normalized area of the MATCHED or UNMATCHED peak. For a peak to be reported and further processed, its normalized area must meet or exceed the predetermined Limit of Processing for Sorting (LOP-SRT).

[0283] Peaks that are UNMATCHED are immediately flagged as different. UNMATCHED peaks are of two types. There are those that are reported in the Reference but appear to be absent in the Sample (based upon criteria for quantitation and reporting). These peaks are designated in with a percent change of “—100 percent” and the description “UNMATCHED IN SAMPLE.” The second types of peaks are those that are not reported in the Reference (again, based upon criteria for quantitation and reporting) but were reported in the Sample, thus appearing to be “new” peaks. These peaks are designated with a percent change of “100 percent” and the description “NEW PEAK UNMATCHED IN NULL.”

[0284] In preferred embodiments, MATCHED peaks are processed further for relative quantitative differentiation. This quantitative differentiation is expressed as a percent change of the Sample peak area relative to the area of the Reference peak. A predetermined threshold for change must be observed for the change to be determined biochemical and statistically significant. The change threshold is based upon previously observed biological and analytical variability factors. Only changes above the threshold for change are reported.

[0285] In some embodiments, following filtration, peaks are next processed through a peak identification process. In some embodiments, the mass spectra of the peaks is first searched against a mass spectral plant metabolite libraries (for example, including but not limited to, the database developed by Function Discovery Laboratories, The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Mich.). The equivalence value assigned to the library match is used as an indication of a proper identification. In some embodiments, in order to provide additional confirmation to the identity of a peak, or to suggest other possibilities, library hits are searched further against a Biotechnology database (for example, including but not limited to, the database developed by Function Discovery Laboratories, The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Mich.). In preferred embodiments, the Biotechnology database incorporates chemical structures.

[0286] In some embodiments, the Chemical Abstract Services (CAS) number of compounds identified from the library is searched against those contained in the database. If a match is found, the CAS number in the database is then correlated to the data acquisition method for that record. If the method matches, the program then compares the retention index (RI) of the component against the value contained in the database for that given method. Should the RI's match (within a given window of variability), then the peak identity is given a high degree of certainty. In some embodiments, components in the Sample that are not identified by this process are assigned a unique identifier for tracking.

[0287] In preferred embodiments, the program then sorts the data to generate a preliminary report referred to as an analyst report. The analyst report includes, but it not limited to, PBM algorithm match quality value (equivalence value), RT, Normalized Peak Area, RI (Sample), RI (database) Peak Identification status [peak identity of high certainty (peaks identified by the program based on the pre-established criteria) or criteria not met (program did not positively identify the component)], Component Name, CAS Number, Mass Spectral Library (containing spectrum most closely matched to that of the component), Unknown ID (unique identifier used to track unidentified components), MS-XCR value, Relative % Change, Notes (MATCHED/UNMATCHED), and other miscellaneous information. In some embodiments, the analyst report is reviewed by an analyst, who edits the report to generate a modified report for further processing by the program.

[0288] For compounds that were derivitized prior to analysis, the compound names in the modified analyst report (MAR) are those of the derivatives. In some embodiments, to accurately reflect the true components of these fractions, the MAR is further processed using information contained in an additional database that cross-references the observed derivatized compound to that of the original, underivatized “parent” compound by way of their respective CAS numbers and replaces derivatives with parent names and information for the final report. In addition, any unidentified components are assigned a “999999-99-9” CAS number for the final report. In some embodiments, the Modified Analyst Report also contains a HIT Score of 0, 1, or 2. The value is assigned by the analyst to the data set of the Sample aliquot based on criteria, including but not limited to, 0=No FDL data on Sample; 1=FDL data collected; Sample not FDL HIT; and 2=FDL data collected; Sample is FDL HIT. An FDL HIT is defined as a reportable percent change (modification) observed in a Sample relative to Reference in a component of biochemical significance.

[0289] In some embodiments, an electronic copy of the final report is entered into the Nautilus LIMS system (BLIMS) and subsequently into eBRAD (Biotech database). In some embodiments, the program generates a hardcopy of the pinpointed TIC and the respective mass spectrum of each component that was reported to have changed.

[0290] VIII. Sequences Identified from Metabolic Screens

[0291] In some embodiments, the present invention provides nucleic sequences that alter the metabolism of plants when expressed in plants. Plants transformed with viral vectors comprising the nucleic acid sequences of the present invention were screened for an altered metabolism phenotype (see Examples 19 and 20). A number of such sequences were identified. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the present invention provides nucleic acid sequences that produce an altered metabolism phenotype when expressed in plant. The present invention is not limited to the particular nucleic acid sequences listed. Indeed, it contemplated that nucleic acid sequences which hybridize to the listed nucleic sequences under conditions ranging from low to high stringency and which also cause the stunting phenotype. These sequences are conveniently identified by insertion into GENEWARE vectors and expression in plants as detailed in the examples. Accordingly, in particularly preferred embodiments, the sequences that produce an altered metabolism phenotype, include, but are not limited to, SEQ ID NOs: 281-304, 306-312, 314-324, 326-330 and 333339-343 and sequences that hybridize to these sequences under conditions of low to high stringency. In some embodiments, the sequences are operably linked to a plant promoter or provided in a vector as described in more detail above. These present invention also contemplates plants transformed or transfected with these sequences as well as seeds from such transfected plants. Furthermore, the sequences can expressed in either sense or antisense orientation. In particularly preferred embodiments, the sequences are at least 30 nucleotides in length up to the length of the full-length of the corresponding gene. It is contemplated that sequences of less than full length (for example, greater than about 30 nucleotides) are useful for down regulation of gene expression via antisense or cosupression. Suitable sequences are selected by chemically synthesizing the sequences, cloning into GENEWARE expression vectors, expressing in plants, and selecting plants with an altered metabolism phenotype.

[0292] In some embodiments, the present invention provides methods and compositions for increasing, decreasing, or otherwise altering the production of acids in plants. Examples of acids that can be altered according to the present invention include, but are not limited to, citric acid, carbamic acid, glyceric acid, phosphoric acid, 11-eicosenoic acid (11Z), caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, malic acid, phosphoric acid, inositol, terephthalic acid. The alterations in metabolic profile are preferably accomplished by expressing one or more of the following nucleic acid sequences (or sequences that hybridize thereto) in a plant: SEQ ID NO:335 (170074), SEQ ID NO:336 (175736), SEQ ID NO:282 (23242), SEQ ID NO:283 (23869), SEQ ID NO:289 (25026), SEQ ID NO:292 (25118), SEQ ID NO:293 (25124), SEQ ID NO:296 (25164), SEQ ID NO:297 (25170), SEQ ID NO:298 (25176), SEQ ID NO:299 (25196), SEQ ID NO:306 (27430), SEQ ID NO:311 (27819), SEQ ID NO:315 (30913), SEQ ID NO:318 (37186), SEQ ID NO:321 (45801), SEQ ID NO:323 (45808), SEQ ID NO:324 (45820), SEQ ID NO:328 (45855), and SEQ ID NO:329 (45864). In preferred embodiments, expression in plants of the sequences that hybridize to the preceding sequences also results in an increase, decrease, or alteration of acid production in a plant.

[0293] In some embodiments, the present invention provides methods and compositions for increasing, decreasing, or otherwise altering the production of fatty acids in plants. Examples of fatty acids that can be altered according to the present invention include, but are not limited to, 9-octadecadienoic acid (9Z), eicosanoic acid, hexadecanoic acid, octadecanoic acid, 9,12,15-octadecatrienoic acid, 9,12-octadecadienoic acid, 7,10,13-docosatrionic acid (7Z,10Z,13Z), 7,10,13-hexadecatrienoic acid, docosanoic acid, heptadecanoic acid, 9-hexadecenoic acid, tetradecanoic acid, and 9-octadecenoic acid. The alterations in metabolic profile are preferably accomplished by expressing one or more of the following nucleic acid sequences (or sequences that hybridize thereto) in a plant: 175736 (SEQ ID NO:336), 21604 (SEQ ID NO:281), 23242 (SEQ ID NO:282), 23869 (SEQ ID NO:283), 25009 (SEQ ID NO:286), 25011 (SEQ ID NO:287), 25015 (SEQ ID NO:288), 25062 (SEQ ID NO:290), 25104 (SEQ ID NO:291), 25133 (SEQ ID NO:294), 25144 (SEQ ID NO:295), 25170 (SEQ ID NO:297), 25176 (SEQ ID NO:298), 25196 (SEQ ID NO:299), 25421 (SEQ ID NO:300), 25431 (SEQ ID NO:302), 27440 (SEQ ID NO:307), 27460 (SEQ ID NO:309), 27468 (SEQ ID NO:310), 27819 (SEQ ID NO:311), 30307 (SEQ ID NO:314), 30913 (SEQ ID NO:315), 34136 (316), 37186 (SEQ ID NO:318), 37188 (SEQ ID NO:319), 45801 (321), 45804 (SEQ ID NO:322), 45864 (SEQ ID NO:329) and 56465 (SEQ ID NO:333). In preferred embodiments, expression in plants of the sequences that hybridize to the preceding sequences also results in an increase, decrease, or alteration of fatty acid production in a plant.

[0294] In some embodiments, the present invention provides methods and compositions for increasing, decreasing, or otherwise altering the production of branched fatty acids in plants. Examples of branched fatty acids that can be altered according to the present invention include, but are not limited to, 16-methyl-heptadecanoic acid, 16-methyl-heptadecanoic acid, and 14-methyl-hexadecanoic acid. The alterations in metabolic profile are preferably accomplished by expressing one or more of the following nucleic acid sequences (or sequences that hybridize thereto) in a plant: 175736 (SEQ ID NO:336), 23242 (SEQ ID NO:282), 23869 (SEQ ID NO:283), 25009 (SEQ ID NO:286), 25015 (SEQ ID NO:288), 25062 (SEQ ID NO:290), 25104 (SEQ ID NO:291), 25133 (SEQ ID NO:294), 25144 (SEQ ID NO:295), 25170 (SEQ ID NO:297), 25196 (SEQ ID NO:299), 25431 (SEQ ID NO:302), 27440 (SEQ ID NO:307), 27460 (SEQ ID NO:309), 27468 SEQ ID NO:310), 30307 (SEQ iD NO:314), 30913 (SEQ ID NO:315), 37188 (SEQ ID NO:319), and 45801 (SEQ IID NO:321). In preferred embodiments, expression in plants of the sequences that hybridize to the preceding sequences also results in an increase, decrease, or alteration of branched fatty acid production in a plant.

[0295] In some embodiments, the present invention provides methods and compositions for increasing, decreasing, or otherwise altering the production of hydroxy fatty acids in plants. Examples of hydroxy fatty acids that can be altered according to the present invention include, but are not limited to, malic acid, 2,3,4-trihydroxy-butanoic acid, 3,4-dihydroxy-butanoic acid, 2,3-dihydroxypropyl-9,12-octadecadienoic acid ester, and 2,3-bis(acetyyloxy)propyl-eicosanoic acid ester. The alterations in metabolic profile are preferably accomplished by expressing one or more of the following nucleic acid sequences (or sequences that hybridize thereto) in a plant: 105039 (SEQ ID NO:334), 23242 (SEQ ID NO:282), 23869 (SEQ ID NO:283), 25026 (SEQ ID NO:289), 27430 (SEQ ID NO:306), 27819 (SEQ ID NO:311), 30913 (SEQ ID NO:315), 37188 (SEQ ID NO:319), and 45808 (SEQ ID NO:323). In preferred embodiments, expression in plants of the sequences that hybridize to the preceding sequences also results in an increase, decrease, or alteration of hydroxy fatty acid production in a plant.

[0296] In some embodiments, the present invention provides methods and compositions for increasing, decreasing, or otherwise altering the production of alcohols in plants. Examples of alcohols that can be altered according to the present invention include, but are not limited to, inositol. The alterations in metabolic profile are preferably accomplished by expressing one or more of the following nucleic acid sequences (or sequences that hybridize thereto) in a plant: 25124 (SEQ ID NO:293), 25170 (SEQ ID NO:297), 25176 (SEQ ID NO:298), 25118 (SEQ ID NO:299), 37186 (SEQ ID NO:318), 37188 (SEQ ID NO:319), 45801 (SEQ ID NO:321), 45808 (SEQ ID NO:323), 45820 (SEQ ID NO:324), 45855 (SEQ ID NO:328), and 45864 (SEQ ID NO:329). In preferred embodiments, expression in plants of the sequences that hybridize to the preceding sequences also results in an increase, decrease, or alteration of alcohol production in a plant.

[0297] In some embodiments, the present invention provides methods and compositions for increasing, decreasing, or otherwise altering the production of alkaloids and other bases in plants. Examples of alkaloids and other bases that can be altered according to the present invention include, but are not limited to, 1,4-butanediamine. The alterations in metabolic profile are preferably accomplished by expressing one or more of the following nucleic acid sequences (or sequences that hybridize thereto) in a plant: 25124 (SEQ ID NO:293), 25164 (SEQ ID NO:296), 25170 (SEQ ID NO:297), 27819 (SEQ ID NO:311), and 37186 (SEQ ID NO:318). In preferred embodiments, expression in plants of the sequences that hybridize to the preceding sequences also results in an increase, decrease, or alteration of alkaloid and other base production in a plant.

[0298] In some embodiments, the present invention provides methods and compositions for increasing, decreasing, or otherwise altering the production of alkenes and alkynes in plants. Examples of alkenes and alkynes that can be altered according to the present invention include, but are not limited to, squalene and limonene. The alterations in metabolic profile are preferably accomplished by expressing one or more of the following nucleic acid sequences (or sequences that hybridize thereto) in a plant: 23242 (SEQ ID NO:282), 25124 (SEQ ID NO:293), and 25196 (SEQ ID NO:299). In preferred embodiments, expression in plants of the sequences that hybridize to the preceding sequences also results in an increase, decrease, or alteration of alkene and alkyne production in a plant.

[0299] In some embodiments, the present invention provides methods and compositions for increasing, decreasing, or otherwise altering the production of amino acids and related compounds in plants. Examples of amino acids and related compounds that can be altered according to the present invention include, but are not limited to, histidine, leucine, methionine, proline, glycine, alanine, serine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, lysine, cysteine, tyrosine, phenylalanine, histidine, valine, threonine, arginine, proline, glutamine, tryptophan, isoleucine, 5-oxo-proline. The alterations in metabolic profile are preferably accomplished by expressing one or more of the following nucleic acid sequences (or sequences that hybridize thereto) in a plant: 105039 (SEQ ID NO:334), 182206 (SEQ ID NO:280), 170074 (SEQ ID NO:335), 175736 (SEQ ID NO:336), 21604 (SEQ ID NO:281), 23242 (SEQ ID NO:282), 23869 (SEQ ID NO:283), 25004 (SEQ ID NO:284), 25008 (SEQ ID NO:285), 25015 (SEQ ID NO:288), 25026 (SEQ ID NO:289), 25057 (SEQ ID NO:338), 25080 (SEQ ID NO:337), 25124 (SEQ ID NO:293), 25164 (SEQ ID NO:296), 25170 (SEQ ID NO:297), 25176 (SEQ ID NO:298), 25196 (SEQ]D NO:299), 25425 (SEQ ID NO:301), 25431 (SEQ ID NO:302), 27410 (SEQ ID NO:303), 27424 (SEQ ID NO:304), 27459 (SEQ ID NO:308), 27460 (SEQ ID NO:309), 27468 (SEQ ID NO:310), 27819 (SEQ ID NO:311), 30913 (SEQ ID NO:315), 34442 (SEQ ID NO:317), 37186 (SEQ ID NO:318), 37188 (SEQ ID NO:319), 38919 (SEQ ID NO:320), 45801 (SEQ ID NO:321), 45808 (SEQ ID NO:323), 45820 (SEQ ID NO:324), 45850 (SEQ ID NO:326), 45853 (SEQ ID NO:327), 45855 (SEQ ID NO:328), 45864 (SEQ ID NO:329), and 45866 (SEQ ID NO:330). In preferred embodiments, expression in plants of the sequences that hybridize to the preceding sequences also results in an increase, decrease, or alteration of amino acid and related compounds production in a plant.

[0300] In some embodiments, the present invention provides methods and compositions for increasing, decreasing, or otherwise altering the production of carbohydrates in plants. Examples of carbohydrates that can be altered according to the present invention include, but are not limited to, hexose, glucose, fructose, sucrose, galactose, and xylose. The alterations in metabolic profile are preferably accomplished by expressing one or more of the following nucleic acid sequences (or sequences that hybridize thereto) in a plant: 105039 (SEQ ID NO:334), 170074 (SEQ ID NO:335), 23242 (SEQ ID NO:282), 23869 (SEQ ID NO:283), 25026 (SEQ ID NO:289), 25124 (SEQ ID NO:293), 25164 (SEQ ID NO:296), 25170 (SEQ ID NO:297), 25196 (SEQ ID NO:299), 27430 (SEQ ID NO:306), 27819 (SEQ ID NO:311), 27864 (SEQ ID NO:312), 30913 (SEQ ID NO:315), 37186 (SEQ ID NO:318), 37188 (SEQ ID NO:319), 45801 (SEQ ID NO:321), 45808 (SEQ ID NO:323), 45820 (SEQ ID NO:324), 45855 (SEQ ID NO:328), and 45864 (SEQ ID NO:329). In preferred embodiments, expression of the sequences that hybridize to the preceding sequences also results in an increase, decrease, or alteration of carbohydrate production in a plant.

[0301] In some embodiments, the present invention provides methods and compositions for increasing, decreasing, or otherwise altering the production of esters in plants. Examples of esters that can be altered according to the present invention include, but are not limited to, 2-methyl-, 3-hydroxy-2,4,4-trimethylpentyl-propanoic acid ester. The alterations in metabolic profile are preferably accomplished by expressing one or more of the following nucleic acid sequences (or sequences that hybridize thereto) in a plant: 23869 (SEQ ID NO:283). In preferred embodiments, expression in plants of the sequences that hybridize to the preceding sequences also results in an increase, decrease, or alteration of ester production in a plant.

[0302] In some embodiments, the present invention provides methods and compositions for increasing, decreasing, or otherwise altering the production of glycerides in plants. Examples of glycerides that can be altered according to the present invention include, but are not limited to, 9,12-octadecadienoic acid (9Z,12Z)-2,3-dihydroxypropyl ester, glycerol palmitate, and glycerol phosphate. The alterations in metabolic profile are preferably accomplished by expressing one or more of the following nucleic acid sequences (or sequences that hybridize thereto) in a plant: 21604 (SEQ ID NO:28 1), 23242 (SEQ ID NO:282), 27819 (SEQ ID NO:311), 30913 (SEQ ID NO:315), 45808 (SEQ ID NO:323) and 56465 (SEQ ID NO:333). In preferred embodiments, expression in plants of the sequences that hybridize to the preceding sequences also results in an increase, decrease, or alteration of glyceride production in a plant.

[0303] In some embodiments, the present invention provides methods and compositions for increasing, decreasing, or otherwise altering the production of hydrocarbons in plants. Examples of hydrocarbons that can be altered according to the present invention include, but are not limited to, 2-methyl-triacontane and squalene. The alterations in metabolic profile are preferably accomplished by expressing one or more of the following nucleic acid sequences (or sequences that hybridize thereto) in a plant: 23242 (SEQ ID NO:282), 25196 (SEQ ID NO:299), 27410 (SEQ ID NO:303), 37188 (SEQ ID NO:319), 38919 (SEQ ID NO:320), 45808 (SEQ ID NO:323) and 56465 (SEQ ID NO:333). In preferred embodiments, expression in plants of the sequences that hybridize to the preceding sequences also results in an increase, decrease, or alteration of hydrocarbon production in a plant.

[0304] In some embodiments, the present invention provides methods and compositions for increasing, decreasing, or otherwise altering the production of phenols and related compounds in plants. Examples of phenols and related compounds that can be altered according to the present invention include, but are not limited to, quinic acid and 4hydroxy-benzoic acid. The alterations in metabolic profile are preferably accomplished by expressing one or more of the following nucleic acid sequences (or sequences that hybridize thereto) in a plant: 170074 (SEQ ID NO:335), 23242 (282), 25118 (SEQ ID NO:292), 25176 (SEQ ID NO:298), 25196 (SEQ ID NO:299), 27819 (SEQ ID NO:311), 30913 (SEQ ID NO:315), 37188 (SEQ ID NO:319), 45801 (SEQ ID NO:321), 45808 (SEQ ID NO:323), 45820 (SEQ ID NO:324), 45855 (SEQ ID NO:328), and 45864 (329). In preferred embodiments, expression in plants of the sequences that hybridize to the preceding sequences also results in an increase, decrease, or alteration of phenol and related compounds in a plant.

[0305] In some embodiments, the present invention provides methods and compositions for increasing, decreasing, or otherwise altering the production of sterols, oxygenated terpenes, and other isoprenoids in plants. Examples of sterols, oxygeneated terpenes, and other isoprenoids that can be altered according to the present invention include, but are not limited to, solanesol, cycloartenol, alpha-tocopherol, gamma-tocopherol, alpha-tocopherol quinone, beta-tocopherol, stigmast-7-en-3-ol (3b,5a,24S), cycloartenol, campesterol, cholesterol, beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol, 24-methylene-lophenol, 24-methylene-cycloartenol, 4,14-dimethyl-ergosta-8,24(28)-diene-3-ol, obtusifoliol, fucosterol, ergost-22-en-3-one, cycloartenol, stigmasta-5,22-dien-3-ol, and 24-methyl-3-oxo-29-norlanostan-10,11,24-methylenecholesterol. The alterations in metabolic profile are preferably accomplished by expressing one or more of the following nucleic acid sequences (or sequences that hybridize thereto) in a plant: 105039 (SEQ ID NO:334), 21604 (SEQ ID NO:281), 23242 (SEQ ID NO:282), 23869 (SEQ ID NO:282), 25124 (SEQ ID NO:293), 25196 (SEQ ID NO:299), 27410 (SEQ ID NO:303), 27819 (SEQ ID NO:311), 30913 (SEQ ID NO:315), 37188 (SEQ ID NO:319), 38919 (SEQ ID NO:320), 45801 (SEQ ID NO:321), 45808 (SEQ ID NO:323), 45864 (SEQ ID NO:329), and 56465 (SEQ ID NO:333). In preferred embodiments, expression in plants of the sequences that hybridize to the preceding sequences also results in an increase, decrease, or alteration of sterol, oxygenated terpene, and other isoprenoid production in a plant.

[0306] In some other preferred embodiments, the present invention comprises other nucleic acid sequences that either alter fatty acid when expressed in a plant. Sequences that altered fatty acid metabolism were identified using the FAME screen described below (see Example 12B). The FAME screen identifies the fatty acid composition of plant leaves that have been transformed with a viral vector comprising the nucleic acid sequences of the present invention. Sequences that alter levels of certain metabolites were identified using the metabolic screen described below (see Example 12E).

[0307] In some preferred embodiments, the present invention comprises SEQ ID NO: 94 and variants and orthologs thereof. Plants transformed with a viral vector comprising SEQ ID NO: 94 exhibited a stunted phenotype and had increased levels of 16:0 fatty acid methyl ester as identified by the FAME screen (see Example 12B). These plants were further analyzed using GC-MS (see Example 12E) to generate a metabolic profile. Gas chromatographs of leaf extracts were analyzed to identify compounds that were present at an increased level in transformed leaves relative to controls. The leaves exhibited increased levels of the following fatty acids: 18:1, 12:0, neophytadience, 14:0, and 16:1. The leaves also had increased levels of inositol, phosphoric acid, malic acid, ribonic acid, gamma-lactone, citric acid, quinic acid, and sugars. Furthermore, the plants were resistant to attack by insects (see Example 12C).

[0308] In some preferred embodiments, the present invention comprises SEQ ID NO: 43 and variants and orthologs thereof. Plants transformed with a viral vector comprising SEQ ID NO: 43 exhibited a stunted phenotype. The transfected plants were analyzed using GC-MS (see Example 12E) to generate a metabolic profile. Gas chromatographs of leaf extracts were analyzed to identify compounds that were present at an increased level in transformed leaves relative to controls. The plant leaves exhibited levels of glyceric acid, malic acid, ribonic acid, gamma-lactone, quinic acid, and inositol.

[0309] SEQ ID NO: 43 was compared to known sequences using the BLAST search program. This sequence was found to have homology to the maize ferridoxin:thioredoxin reductase (FTR; See for example, Iwadate et al., Eur. J. Biochem., 241:121 [1996]). FTR is the essential enzyme of the light-dependent regulatory system controlling enzyme activities in photosynthetic plant cells. FTR, in the presence of ferridoxin and thioredoxin, catalyzes the activation of several photosynthetic enzymes, such as fructose-1,6-biphosphatase and NADP-malate dehydrogenase (See for example, Tsugita et al., Protein seq Data Anal., 4:9 [1991]; and Crawford et al., Arch Biochem. Biophys, 271:223 [1989]). The present invention is not limited to a particular mechanism. Indeed, an understanding of the mechanism of the present invention is not necessary to practice the present invention. Nonetheless, it is contemplated that disrupting the regulation of photosynthetic enzymes by disrupting the function of FTR, is responsible for the stunting and phenotype and metabolic profile changes observed in plants transformed with viral vectors comprising SEQ ID NO: 43.

[0310] In some preferred embodiments, the present invention comprises SEQ ID NO: 151 and variants and orthologs thereof. Plants transformed with a viral vector comprising SEQ ID NO:151 exhibited a stunted phenotype and were found to have altered fatty acid metabolism as identified by the FAME screen (see Example 12B). The leaves also exhibited increased resistance to attack by insects (see Example 12C).

[0311] In some preferred embodiments, the present invention comprises SEQ ID NO: 52 and variants and orthologs thereof. Plants transformed with a viral vector comprising SEQ ID NO: 52 exhibited a stunted phenotype. The plants also exhibited altered fatty acid metabolism as identified by the FAME screen (see Example 12B).

[0312] SEQ ID NO: 52 was compared to known sequences using the BLAST search program. The sequence was found to have homology to Arabidopsis thaliana psbW gene (See for example, GenBank Accession Nos. S60662 and X90769). PsbW encodes the W subunit of photosystem II. PsbW is a thylakoid membrane protein that is part of the core photosystem II complex (See for example, Thompson et al., J. Biol. Chem., 273:18979 [1998]; Barber and Kuhlbrandt, Curr Opin Struct Biol 4:469 [1999]). The present invention is not limited to a particular mechanism. Indeed, an understanding of the mechanism of the present invention is not necessary to practice the present invention. Nonetheless, it is contemplated that disrupting the function of a component of plant photosynthesis, such as psbW, would disrupt plant growth and lead to the observed stunting phenotype and disrupted fatty acid metabolism.

[0313] In some preferred embodiments, the present invention comprises SEQ ID NO: 49 and variants and orthologs thereof. Plants transformed with a viral vector comprising SEQ ID NO: 49 exhibited a stunted phenotype. The plants also exhibited altered levels of certain metabolites as evidenced by the metabolic screen.

[0314] In some preferred embodiments, the present invention comprises SEQ ID NO: 79 and variants and orthologs thereof. Plants transformed with a viral vector comprising SEQ ID NO: 79 exhibited a stunted phenotype. The plants were further analyzed using GC-MS (see Example 12E) to generate a metabolic profile. Gas chromatographs of leaf extracts were analyzed to identify compounds that were present at an increased level in transformed leaves relative to controls. The plant leaves exhibited increased levels of malic acid, aspartic acid, pyroglutamate, citric acid, and sucrose.

[0315] SEQ ID NO: 79 was compared to known sequences using the BLAST search program. SEQ ID NO: 79 was found to have homology to A. thaliana H3 histone gene (See for example, Chaboute et al., Plant Mol. Biol., 8:179 [1987]). Histones are structural proteins involved in chromatin structure. The present invention is not limited to a particular mechanism. Indeed, an understanding of the mechanism of the present invention is not necessary to practice the present invention. Nonetheless, it is contemplated that disruption of chromosome structure is responsible for the stunting phenotype observed and for the increased level of certain metabolites.

[0316] IX. Identification of Homologs to Sequences

[0317] The present invention also provides homologs and variants of the sequences described above, but which may not hybridize to the sequences described above under conditions ranging from low to high stringency. In some preferred embodiments, the homologous and variant sequences are operably linked to an exogenous promoter. Table 1 provides BLAST search results from publicly available databases. The relevant sequences are identified by Accession number in these databases. Table 2 contains the top blastx hits (identified by accession number) versus all the amino acid sequences in the Derwent biweekly database. Table 3 contains the top blastn hits (identified by accession number) versus all the nucleotide sequences in the Derwent biweekly database. TABLE 1 Blast Search Results for Selected Databases SEQ ID ID NO: Number Blast results 334 105039 sp|Q43848|TKTC_SOLTU TRANSKETOLASE, CHLOROPLAST PRECURSOR (TK) emb|CAA90427.1| (Z50099) transketolase precursor [Solanum tuberosum 335 170474 gb|AAK27804.1|AC022457_7 (AC022457) hypothetical protein [Oryza sativa 336 175736 pir∥T14544 fructokinase (EC 2.7.1.4) - beet gb|AAA80675.1| (U37838) fructokinase [Beta vulgaris] 280 182206 pir∥S58083 transketolase (EC 2.2.1.1) precursor - potato (fragment) 281 21604 pir∥T45745 hypothetical protein F24M12.180 - Arabidopsis thaliana emb|CAB62636.1| (AL132980) putative protein [Arabidopsis thaliana] 282 23242 gb|AAC73034.1| (AC005824) hypothetical protein [Arabidopsis thaliana] 283 23869 pir∥S76514 hypothetical protein - Synechocystis sp. (strain PCC 6803) dbj|BAA10360.1| (D64002) hypothetical protein [Synechocystis sp.] 284 25004 sp|O80934|Y230_ARATH PROTEIN AT2G37520, CHLOROPLAST PRECURSOR pir∥T02532 hypothetical protein F13M22.16 - Arabidopsis thaliana gb|AAC23636.1| (AC004684) unknown protein [Arabidopsis thaliana] 285 25008 sp|O80934|Y230_ARATH PROTEIN AT2G37520, CHLOROPLAST PRECURSOR pir∥T02532 hypothetical protein F13M22.16 - Arabidopsis thaliana gb|AAC23636.1| (AC004684) unknown protein [Arabidopsis thaliana] 286 25009 sp|P55748|CP22_HORVU SERINE CARBOXYPEPTIDASE II-2 PRECURSOR (CP-MII.2) gb|AAB31590.1| CP-MII.2 = serine carboxypeptidase [Hordeum vulgare = barley, cv. Alexis, aleurone, Peptide, 436 aa] emb|CAB59202.1| (X78878) serine carboxylase II-2 [Hordeum vulgare] 287 25011 sp|P74707|RF1_SYNY3 PEPTIDE CHAIN RELEASE FACTOR 1 (RF-1) pir∥S76914 translation releasing factor RF-1 - Synechocystis sp. (strain PCC 6803) dbj|BAA18826.1| (D90917) peptide chain release factor [Synechocystis sp.] 288 25015 gb|AAG40037.1|AF324686_1 (AF324686) MSA6. [Arabidopsis thaliana] gb|AAG41441.1|AF326859_1 (AF326859) unknown protein [Arabidopsis thaliana] dbj|BAB01448.1| (AP000604) photosystem II 5 kD protein precursor [Arabidopsis thaliana] gb|AAK00364.1|AF339682_1 (AF339682) unknown protein [Arabidopsis thaliana] 289 25026 sp|P27521|CB24_ARATH CHLOROPHYLL A-B BINDING PROTEIN 4 PRECURSOR (LHCI TYPE III CAB-4) (LHCP) pir∥T45707 CHLOROPHYLL A-B BINDING PROTEIN 4 PRECURSOR homolog - Arabidopsis thaliana gb|AAA32760.1| (M63931) light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b binding protein [Arabidopsis thaliana] emb|CAB61973.1| (AL132955) CHLOROPHYLL A-B BINDING PROTEIN 4 PRECURSOR homolog [Arabidopsis thaliana] 338 25057 gb|AAD25930.1|AF085279_3 (AF085279) hypothetical Cys-3-His zinc finger protein [Arabidopsis thaliana] gb|AAF18728.1|AC018721_3 (AC018721) putative CCCH-type zinc finger protein [Arabidopsis thaliana] 290 25062 ref|XP_011617.2| golgi transport complex 1 (90 kDa subunit) [Homo sapiens] 337 25080 gb|AAK52899.1|AF351125_1 (AF351125) gamma-aminobutyrate transaminase subunit precursor [Arabidopsis thaliana] 291 25104 sp|P15459|2SS3_ARATH 2S SEED STORAGE PROTEIN 3 PRECURSOR (2S ALBUMIN STORAGE PROTEIN) pir∥NWMU3 2S albumin 3 precursor - Arabidopsis thaliana gb|AAA32745.1| (M22033) albumin 2S subunit 3 precursor [Arabidopsis thaliana] emb|CAA80868.1| (Z24744) 2S albumin isoform 3 [Arabidopsis thaliana] emb|CAB38846.1| (AL035680) NWMU3-2S albumin 3 precursor [Arabidopsis thaliana] emb|CAB79571.1| (AL161566) NWMU3-2S albumin 3 precursor [Arabidopsis thaliana] 292 25118 gb|AAG50838.1|AC073944_5 (AC073944) multispanning membrane protein, putative [Arabidopsis thaliana] 293 25124 gb|AAK25908.1|AF360198_1 (AF360198) putative ubiquitin carboxyl- terminal hydrolase [Arabidopsis thaliana] 294 25133 gb|AAF78265.1|AC020576_9 (AC020576) Contains similarity to aminoacylase from Sus scrofa domestica gi|S27010 and contains a peptidase M20 PF|01546 domain. ESTs gb|H76043, gb|AA394953, gb|AI995115, gb|AA651481 come from this gene. [Arabidopsis thaliana] 295 25144 dbj|BAB01489.1| (AB030033) AmiB [Dictyostelium discoideum] 296 25164 dbj|BAB02817.1| (AB024036) gene_id: MQC12.11˜unknown protein [Arabidopsis thaliana] 297 25170 gb|AAF78388.1|AC069551_21 (AC069551) T10O22.12 [Arabidopsis thaliana] 298 25176 emb|CAB44317.1| (Y17842) lamin B receptor [Xenopus laevis] 299 25196 emb|CAC08341.1| (AL392174) lipoic acid synthase-like protein [Arabidopsis thaliana] 339 25414 emb|CAB52750.1| (AJ245632) photosystem I subunit VI precursor [Arabidopsis thaliana] gb|AAF29410.1|AC022354_9 (AC022354) photosystem I subunit VI precursor [Arabidopsis thaliana] 300 25421 gb|AAD40603.1|AF115283_22 (AF115283) preprotein translocase SecY [Leptospira interrogans] 301 25425 gb|AAC32114.1| (AF051209) CROC-1-like protein [Picea mariana] 302 25431 gb|AAF86550.1|AC069252_9 (AC069252) F2E2.14 [Arabidopsis thaliana] 303 27410 sp|P24636|TBB4_ARATH TUBULIN BETA-4 CHAIN pir∥S68122 tubulin beta-4 chain - Arabidopsis thaliana gb|AAA32757. 1| (M21415) beta-tubulin [Arabidopsis thaliana] 304 27424 pir∥T01527 hypothetical protein A_IG005I10.23 - Arabidopsis thaliana gb|AAB62841.1| (AF013293) A_IG005I10.23 gene product [Arabidopsis thaliana] gb|AAF02799.1|AF195115_19 (AF195115) F5I10.23 gene product [Arabidopsis thaliana] emb|CAB80802.1| (AL161471) putative protein [Arabidopsis thaliana] 305 25427 pir∥T49105 symbiosis-related like protein - Arabidopsis thaliana emb|CAA18101.1| (AL022140) symbiosis-related like protein [Arabidopsis thaliana] emb|CAB79153.1| (AL161556) symbiosis-related like protein [Arabidopsis thaliana] 306 27430 pir∥T24470 hypothetical protein T04F8.8 - Caenorhabditis elegans emb|CAA91483.1| (Z66565) cDNA EST yk121f1.5 comes from this gene˜cDNA EST yk145f11.3 comes from this gene˜cDNA EST yk150b6.3 comes from this gene˜cDNA EST yk150b6.5 comes from this gene˜cDNA EST yk171h2.5 comes from this gene˜cDNA EST yk205f7.3 comes from this gene 307 27440 gb|AAB03512.1| (L37749) hexokinase III [Homo sapiens] 308 27459 gb|AAF87848.1|AC073942_2 (AC073942) Contains similarity to a hypothetical protein T11I11.11 gi|6587865 from Arabidopsis thaliana BAC gb|AC012680 309 27460 sp|Q9ZAE3|RL18_THEMA 50S RIBOSOMAL PROTEIN L18 pir∥D72248 ribosomal protein L18 - Thermotoga maritima (strain MSB8) gb|AAD36550.1|AE001798_15 (AE001798) ribosomal protein L18 [Thermotoga maritima] 310 27468 gb|AAF97342.1|AC023628_23 (AC023628) Putative MYB family transcription factor [Arabidopsis thaliana] 311 27819 pir∥S56707 histone H3 homolog - common tobacco 312 27864 pir∥T02580 hypothetical protein T16B24.14 - Arabidopsis thaliana gb|AAC28986.1| (AC004697) putative patatin protein [Arabidopsis thaliana] 313 30087 gb|AAC72288.1| (AF033204) putative pectin methylesterase [Arabidopsis thaliana] 314 30307 ref|NP_064380.1| phosphorylated adaptor for RNA export [Mus musculus] emb|CAB87994.1| (AJ276504) phosphorylated adaptor for RNA export [Mus musculus] 315 30913 gb|AAA73163.1| (M81126) synthetic fusion protein [synthetic construct] 316 34136 gb|AAB82617.1| (AC002387) unknown protein [Arabidopsis thaliana] 317 34442 pir∥T48166 hypothetical protein T10O8.150 - Arabidopsis thaliana emb|CAB81927.1| (AL161746) putative protein [Arabidopsis thaliana] 318 37186 pir∥T09015 transketolase (EC 2.2.1.1) precursor, chloroplast - spinach gb|AAD10219.1| (L76554) transketolase [Spinacia oleracea] 319 37188 pir∥RGUS1M exonuclease REC1 (EC 3.1.- .- ) - smut fungus (Ustilago maydis) 320 38919 pir∥UQFS ubiquitin precursor - common sunflower (fragment) 321 45801 dbj|BAA97024.1| (AB024035) 30S ribosomal protein S16 [Arabidopsis thaliana] 322 45804 emb|CAA05084.1| (AJ001911) putative Ckc2 [Arabidopsis thaliana] 323 45808 gb|AAF80126.1|AC024174_8 (AC024174) Contains similarity to a fructokinase from Solanum tuberosum gi|585973 and is a member of the pfkB carbohydrate kinase family PF|00294. [Arabidopsis thaliana] 324 45820 sp|Q43291|RL21_ARATH 60S RIBOSOMAL PROTEIN L21 gb|AAB60725.1| (AC000132) Similar to ribosomal protein L21 (gb|L38826). ESTs gb|AA395597, gb|ATTS5197 come from this gene. [Arabidopsis thaliana]gb|AAC33220.1|AAC33220 (AC003970) Putative ribosomal protein L21 [Arabidopsis thaliana] gb|AAK44042.1|AF370227_1 (AF370227) putative ribosomal protein L21 [Arabidopsis thaliana] 325 45837 dbj|BAB02573.1| (AP001299) gene_id: F4B12.10˜unknown protein [Arabidopsis thaliana] 326 45850 gb|AAG51729.1|AC068667_8 (AC068667) unknown protein; 16040-11188 [Arabidopsis thaliana] 327 45853 sp|P92792|OM20_SOLTU MITOCHONDRIAL IMPORT RECEPTOR SUBUNIT TOM20 (TRANSLOCASE OF OUTER MEMBRANE 20 KDA SUBUNIT) pir∥T07679 protein import receptor TOM20, mitochondrial potato emb|CAA63223.1| (X92491) TOM20 [Solanum tuberosum] 328 45855 gb|AAF99832.1|AC008046_4 (AC008046) Putative ribosomal protein [Arabidopsis thaliana] gb|AAK48976.1|AF370549_1 (AF370549) Putative ribosomal protein [Arabidopsis thaliana] 329 45864 pir∥T05075 hypothetical protein T6K21.70 - Arabidopsis thaliana emb|CAA17132.1| (AL021889) putative protein [Arabidopsis thaliana] emb|CAB78791.1| (AL161547) putative protein [Arabidopsis thaliana] 330 45866 sp|Q9ZSW9|TCTP_HEVBR TRANSLATIONALLY CONTROLLED TUMOR PROTEIN HOMOLOG (TCTP) gb|AAD10032.1| (AF091455) translationally controlled tumor protein [Hevea brasiliensis] 331 45869 dbj|BAB01276.1| (AB023046) proline-rich protein APG-like; GDSL- motif lipase/hydrolase-like protein [Arabidopsis thaliana] 332 45874 pir∥T51279 ribosomal protein, chloroplast - Arabidopsis thaliana emb|CAC00754.1| (AL390921) ribosomal protein, chloroplast [Arabidopsis thaliana] 333 56465 pir∥T47886 transketolase-like protein - Arabidopsis thaliana emb|CAB82679.1| (AL162295) transketolase-like protein [Arabidopsis thaliana]

[0318] TABLE 2 SEQ ID NO. ID Number Accession Numbers of Hits 334 105039 AAB10624; AAW03319; AAG40462; AAG31692; AAG31693; AAB10624; AAW03319; AAG31691; AAG28890; AAG15242 335 170474 AAG12800; AAG12801; AAG29067; AAG12802; AAG52408; AAG12802; AAG12800; AAG12801; AAG52414; AAG52416 336 175736 AAW81786; AAG17112; AAG09068; AAB46419; AAB46419; AAG17114; AAG09070; AAG17112; AAG09068; AAG17113 280 182206 AAG08581; AAG15243; AAG15242; AAG15244; AAG40461 281 21604 AAG60253; AAG57855; AAG60254; AAG57856; AAG58553 283 23869 AAG58058; AAG58083; AAG58059; AAG58059 285 25008 AAG37867; AAG18287; AAG37866; AAG18286 286 25009 AAG47179; AAG47178; AAG47177; AAG23906; AAG23905 287 25011 AAG29027; AAG29026; AAG29028; AAY70144; AAW29380 288 25015 AAG43616; AAG43614; AAG43615; AAG14253; AAG14254 289 25026 AAG53842; AAG08988; AAG53841; AAG08987; AAG53843 338 25057 AAG31643; AAG31641; AAG31642; AAG61071; AAG61072 290 25062 AAR89750 337 25080 AAB19490; AAG16448; AAG16449; AAG16450; AAG33444; AAB19490; AAG16448; AAG16450; AAG16449; AAG35991 291 25104 AAP96144; AAP91892; AAW23588; AAW23586; AAR33390 292 25118 AAG43743; AAG43745; AAG43744; AAG04118; AAG31959 293 25124 AAY86227; AAY35651; AAY37290 294 25133 AAG50167; AAG50168; AAG50166; AAG06513; AAG06511; AAG50167; AAG06512; AAG50166; AAG06511; AAG33534 295 25144 AAG57079; AAB16305; AAR39299; AAB16306; AAB18198; 296 25164 AAG39753; AAG29096; AAG39752; AAG29095 297 25170 AAG38679; AAG38680; AAG27620; AAG38681; AAG27621 298 25176 AAB63719; AAR93610; AAR97834; AAG07743 299 25196 AAG48727; AAG05244; AAG48728; AAG05245; AAG48729 339 25414 AAG10794; AAG47347; AAG54914; AAG47312; AAG10974; AAG54914; AAG47312; AAG10974 300 25421 AAG31569; AAY95040 301 25425 AAG39142; AAG39143; AAG08248; AAG54876; AAG39144 302 25431 AAG16710; AAG16709; AAG16711; AAG47573; AAG41227 303 27410 AAG47010; AAG47008; AAG47009; AAG42988; AAG17036 304 27424 AAG59539; AAG59538; AAG59537; AAG22267 305 25427 AAG47987; AAG47990; AAG47988 306 27430 AAG44675; AAG44673; AAG44674; AAG51796; AAG29999 307 27440 AAW75919; AAG41126; AAW13670; AAY65872 308 27459 AAG21756; AAG21757; AAG21755; AAG34822; AAG34823 309 27460 AAG52634; AAG09437; AAG52635; AAG09438; AAG09943 310 27468 AAG14730; AAG14731; AAG19773; AAG19774 311 27819 AAG12083; AAG47929; AAG36934; AAG26859; AAG36935 312 27864 AAG54013; AAG54014; AAG54015; AAG05196; AAG05197 313 30087 AAG14746; AAG14744; AAG14745; AAW72963; AAW12660 314 30307 AAY87788; AAY78855; AAY34917; AAY93184 315 30913 AAB04162; AAR10474; AAR21552; AAR21553 316 34136 AAG43687; AAG43685; AAG43686 317 34442 AAG31677; AAG31678; AAG31679; AAW95039; AAY35611 318 37186 AAG31691; AAG40462; AAG40461; AAG31692; AAG40460 319 37188 AAB47020; AAG44658; AAG44659; AAG44660 320 38919 AAG44760 321 45801 AAG24483; AAG20434; AAG39213; AAG39214; AAG24484 322 45804 AAG49622; AAG07101; AAG49621; AAG07100 323 45808 AAG10313; AAG10314; AAG10315; AAG17114; AAG09070 324 45820 AAG24999; AAG25000; AAG43611; AAG47669; AAG27986 325 45837 AAG26406; AAG26407; AAY71916 327 45853 AAG51530; AAG08042; AAG51531; AAG08043; AAG11383 328 45855 AAG25047; AAG23219; AAG11189; AAG09821; AAG09820 329 45864 AAG25072; AAG25071; AAG25070; AAG52744; AAG52745 330 45866 AAG41955; AAG04532; AAG35568; AAG54578; AAG54502 331 45869 AAG45664; AAG26188; AAG26186; AAG26187; AAG45663 332 45874 AAG26336; AAG19244; AAG13376; AAG54975; AAG16267 333 56465 AAG09847; AAG09848; AAG08581

[0319] TABLE 3 SEQ ID NO: ID Number Nucleic Acid Blast Hits 334 105039 AAA71793; AAT35903; AAC46455; AAC43120; AAC36886; AAA71793; AAT35903; AAF61220; AAF61219; AAF61218 335 170474 AAC35963; AAC50920; AAC50918; AAC42162; AAC35963; AAV64625; AAC37608; AAC34496; AAF66834 336 175736 AAA67291; AAA67287; AAA67285; AAA67288; AAA67278; AAA67275; AAZ43885; AAZ43880 280 182206 AAA71793; AAT35903; AAC34305 281 21604 AAC54480; AAC53467; AAZ86878; AAZ40799; AAV15082 282 23242 AAC88116; AAC78052; AAC77093; AAX90201 283 23869 AAC53550; AAC53560; AAC54140; AAC52688 285 25008 AAC45476; AAC38055; AAC46141; AAC43179; AAC35309; 286 25009 AAC48966; AAC40187; AAZ46156; AAC47963; AAV57911 287 25011 AAC42148; AAC79885; AAC53894; AAC32896; AAF28551 288 25015 AAC47630; AAC36501; AAC51267; AAC46968; AAA27678 289 25026 AAC51455; AAC34464; AAC46521; AAC51766; AAX13230 338 25057 AAC77474; AAX41515; AAC50747; AAC33928; AAX91990; AAA47316; AAF32205; AAA81575; AAF15915 290 25062 AAT34660; AAC79951; AAC64370; AAX91990; AAX99575 337 25080 AAC37361; AAC62026; AAC43789; AAZ28374; AAC62028; AAC37361; AAC62026; AAC44199 291 25104 AAN90116; AAN91903 292 25118 AAC43220; AAC32617; AAC47678 293 25124 AAF09844; AAV68142; AAX20248; AAT70813; AAT17981 294 25133 AAC50085; AAC33510; AAC79623; AAT74200; AAC50085; AAC33510; AAC43825; AAC03410; AAQ33106 295 25144 AAC47787; AAC48287; AAC53139; AAC40672 296 25164 AAC46192; AAC42171; AAC42036; AAC53237 297 25170 AAC49111; AAC39852; AAC43994; AAC49101; AAT42063 298 25176 AAC48552; AAC46307; AAC45561; AAC35280; AAC33374 299 25196 AAC49548; AAC33043; AAC44589 339 25414 AAC35174; AAC49030; AAC49017; AAC52025; AAF68242; AAC52025; AAC49017; AAC51815 300 25421 AAF76597; AAF45152; AAF45151; AAF45144 301 25425 AAC34171; AAC45956; AAC51987; AAC35101 302 25431 AAC37460; AAZ35273; AAC44705; AAA93919; AAX20248 303 27410 AAC48904; AAC47026; AAC40829; AAC47401; AAC37579 304 27424 AAC54087; AAC39572; AAC41582; AAC54192; AAA46327 305 25427 AAC49271; AAC36469; AAC49272; AAC34314; AAF22305 306 27430 AAC47114; AAC49141; AAC49134 307 27440 AAX20560; AAF28099; AAF26320; AAA34915; 34914 308 27459 AAX99592; AAX23321; AAC84836; AAC84826; AAC89559 309 27460 AAC51007; AAC34646; AAC34838; AAC36205 310 27468 AAC36683; AAX90605; AAV25602 311 27819 AAC41085; AAC47648; AAC36131; AAC43614; AAC34045 312 27864 AAF24298; AAT14180; AAF67765; AAC08621 313 30087 AAC36689; AAV64073; AAT51738; AAV64074; AAT51739 314 30307 AAX91990; AAV57903; AAT22884; AAC44294; AAC38980 315 30913 AAF24901; AAA56091 316 34136 AAC40341; AAC47656; AAC38809; AAQ98471; AAC38809; AAC47656; AAC55902; AAC74238; AAX13009 317 34442 AAT12557; AAT34617; AAA44222; AAC59611; AAF65936 318 37186 AAC46455; AAC43120; AAC36886; AAC34801; AC34305; 319 37188 AAC85282; AAC79694; AAC83002; AAX76329 320 38919 AAF22305 321 45801 AAC40401; AAC38898 322 45804 AAC49881; AAC33732; AAC54301; AAC56824 323 45808 AAC34977; AAV64626; AAC82994; AAC34496 324 45820 AAC40597; AAC37179; AAC47629; AAC41759; AAC49148 325 45837 AAC41154; AAF75866; AAF75865; AAC76913; AAF22305 326 45850 AAV80117; AAV80181 327 45853 AAC50591; AAC34094; AAC52632; AAC35406 328 45855 AAC40616; AAC52091; AAC35334; AAC39935 329 45864 AAC40625; AAC51049; AAC44350 330 45866 AAC47019; AAC32771; AAC53835; AAC44612; AAC51854 331 45869 AAC48403; AAC41073; AAC49977; AAC52157; AAA35030 332 45874 AAC51906; AAC41128; AAC38438 333 56465 AAC36886; AAC34305

[0320] In addition, the nucleic acid sequences were analyzed using Pfam analysis. The nucleic acid sequences giving stunting phenotypes were further analyzed by translating the sequences into their predicted amino acid sequences. The predicted amino acid sequences were used to search amino acid databases to identify protein homologs and orthologs. One skilled in the art recognizes that a nucleic acid sequence can be translated in one of three reading frames. However, all of the amino acid sequences identified herein have substantial homology to the homolog or ortholog. Therefore, it is contemplated that in some embodiments the amino acid sequences presented herein are translated in the correct reading frame.

[0321] A. Fructokinase

[0322] In some embodiments, the present invention comprises sequences identified as having homology to fructokinase. Table 4 shows putative fructokinase enzymes, identified through Pfam searches and searches for protein orthologs and homologs. Table 4 lists sequence identification for the nucleic acid sequence, the Pfam score and P-value, and sequence identification for protein orthologs and homologs for all sequences identified as fructokinases.

[0323] Fructokinase is involved in the metabolism of simple sugars in plants. Sucrose translocated from leaves to sink tissue may be stored directly or metabolized by Sucrose synthase and/or invertase to provide hexose and hexose phosphate for storage or metabolism. In both Sucrose synthase- and invertase-mediated metabolic pathways, Fructose is formed as a metabolic product and must be phosphorylated for further metabolism. Two enzymes, hexokinase and fructokinase are able to phosphorylate Fructose in plants. Hexokinase can effectively utilize several hexoses, including Fructose and Glucose, whereas fructokinase specifically phosphorylates fructose. Fructokinase is likely to be of primary importance in phosphorylation of fructose in plants because the affinity of fructokinase for fructose is much higher than that of hexokinase. TABLE 4 Fructokinase Sequences Ortholog/Homolog SEQ ID NO PFam Score P-Value SEQ ID NO 101 17.9 0.00011 167877; 123 105 26.7 1.8e−07 187756; 167877 120 139.9 5.9e−43 123; 190868; 130; 167877 122 127 6.4e−39 123; 190868; 130 123 143.5 4.4e−44 190868 126 38.8   3e−11 186915 128 16.8 0.000240 186915; 167955; 105 130 94.6 9.1e−29 190868 133 34.3 7.7e−10 190868 134 34.3 7.7e−10 133 137 94.9 7.4e−29 190868; 130 149 97.1 97.1 190868; 130; 19086; 123

[0324] B. Transketolase

[0325] In some embodiments, the present invention comprises sequences identified as having homology to transketolase. Table 5 shows putative fructokinase enzymes, identified through Pfam searches and searches for protein orthologs and homologs. Table 5 lists sequence identification for the nucleic acid sequence, the Pfam score and P-value, and sequence identification for protein orthologs and homologs for all sequences identified as having homology to transketolases. TABLE 5 Transketolase Sequences Ortholog/Homolog SEQ ID NO PFam Score P-Value SEQ ID NO 81 30.6 2.7e−7  124; 130065 85 235.9 5.8e−67 144; 140 118 113.8 3.3e−30 30310; 144 119 19.9 0.00018 129 121 162.7   6e−45 146; 145; 143 124 150.8 2.4e−41 140; 85 125 347.8  1.2e−100 182731; 148; 141 127 125.3 1.1e−33 129; 97 129 189.3 5.9e−53 97 131 193.8 2.7e−54 129; 97 132 174.7 1.6e−48 85; 144; 140 135 291.7   9e−84 130; 190868; 30310; 140; 144; 123 138 159.1 7.7e−44 129; 97 139 159.1 7.7e−44 129; 97 140 232 8.5e−66 85; 144 141 335.6 5.6e−97 148; 143 142 81 1.1e−20 145 143 323.6 2.3e−93 148; 141; 143 144 191.4 1.4e−53 85; 140 145 225.2 9.5e−64 141; 143; 148 146 228.9 7.1e−65 143; 141 147 220 3.6e−62 182731; 140; 124 148 352.5  4.5e−102 182731

[0326] Transketolase is a key enzyme of the non-oxidative pentose phosphate pathway. The effect of its overexpression on aromatic amino acid production was investigated in Corynebacterium glutamicum, a typical amino-acid-producing organism. For this purpose, the transketolase gene of the organism was cloned on the basis of its ability to complement a C. glutamicum transketolase mutant with pleiotropically shikimic-acid-requiring, ribose- and gluconic-acid-negative phenotype. A cDNA encoding the Calvin cycle enzyme transketolase was isolated from Sorghum bicolor via subtractive differential hybridization, and used to isolate several full-length cDNA clones for this enzyme from spinach. Functional identity of the encoded mature subunit was shown by an 8.6-fold increase of TKL activity upon induction of Escherichia coli cells that overexpress the spinach TKL subunit under the control of the bacteriophage T7 promoter. Chloroplast localization of the cloned enzyme is shown by processing of the in vitro synthesized precursor upon uptake by isolated chloroplasts. Southern blot-analysis suggests that TKL is encoded by a single gene in the spinach genome. TKL proteins of both higher-plant chloroplasts and the cytosol of non-photosynthetic eukaryotes are found to be unexpectedly similar to eubacterial homologues, suggesting a possible eubacterial origin of these nuclear genes. Chloroplast TKL is the last of the demonstrably chloroplast-localized Calvin cycle enzymes to have been cloned and thus completes the isolation of gene probes for all enzymes of the pathway in higher plants.

[0327] C. Ferritin

[0328] In some embodiments, the present invention comprises sequences identified as having homology to ferritin. Table 6 shows putative ferritin proteins, identified through Pfam searches and searches for protein orthologs and homologs. Table 6 lists sequence identification for the nucleic acid sequence, the Pfam score and P-value, and sequence identification for protein orthologs and homologs for all sequences identified as having homology to ferritin.

[0329] Iron-regulated ferritin synthesis in animals is dominated by translational control of stored mRNA; iron-induced transcription of ferritin genes, when it occurs, changes the subunit composition of ferritin mRNA and protein and is coupled to translational control. Ferritins in plants and animals have evolved from a common progenitor, based on the similarity of protein sequence; however, sequence divergence occurs in the C termini; structure prediction suggests that plant ferritin has the E-helix, which, in horse ferritin, forms a large channel at the tetrameric interface. In contemporary plants, a transit peptide is encoded by ferritin mRNA to target the protein to plastids. Iron-regulated synthesis of ferritin in plants and animals appears to be very different since the 50- to 60-fold increases of ferritin protein, previously observed to be induced by iron in cultured soybean cells, is accompanied by an equivalent accumulation of hybridizable ferritin mRNA and by increased transcription of ferritin genes. Ferritin mRNA from iron-induced cells and the constitutive ferritin mRNA from soybean hypocotyls are identical. The iron-induced protein is translocated normally to plastids. Differences in animal ferritin structure coincide with the various iron storage functions (reserve for iron proteins and detoxification). In contrast, the constancy of structure of soybean ferritin, iron-induced and constitutive, coupled with the potential for vacuolar storage of excess iron in plants suggest that rapid synthesis of ferritin from a stored ferritin mRNA may not be needed in plants for detoxification of iron.

[0330] A synthetic siderophore, O-Trensox (L), has been designed and synthesized to improve iron nutrition of plants. The affinity for iron of this ligand [pFe(III)=29.5 and pFe(II)=17.9] is very high compared with EDTA. In spite of its high and specific affinity for iron, O-Trensox was found to be able to prevent, and to reverse, iron chlorosis in several plant species grown in axenic conditions. It also allows the iron nutrition and growth of Acer pseudoplatanus L. cell suspensions. The rate of iron metabolization was monitored by ⁵⁹Fe radioiron. Ferritins the iron storage proteins, are shown to be the first iron-labelled proteins during iron metabolization and to be able to further dispatch the metal. Using Fe(III-Trensox, the rate of iron incorporation into ferritin was found to be higher than when using Fe-EDTA, but slower than with Fe-citrate, the natural iron carrier in xylem. During a plant cell culture, the extracellular concentrations of iron complex and fiee ligand were measured; changes in their relative amounts showed that the iron complex is dissociated extracellularly and that only iron is internalized. This suggests a high affinity for iron of a putative carrier on the plasmalemma. In contrast with Fe-citrate and Fe-EDTA complexes, Fe(III)Trensox is not photoreducible. Its ability to induce radical damage as a Fenton reagent was tested using supercoiled DNA as target molecule. Unlike Fe-citrate and Fe-EDTA, Fe(II)Trensox and Fe(III)-Trensox were proven to be harmless even during ascorbate-driven reduction, while Fe-EDTA and Fe-citrate generate heavy damage to DNA. TABLE 6 Ferritin Sequences Ortholog/ Homolog SEQ ID NO PFam Score P-Value SEQ ID NO 33 66.1 1.2e−18 34 66.1 1.2e−18 33; 25152

[0331] X. Contigs and Orthologs Identified by Sequence Analysis

[0332] In some embodiments, the present invention comprises nucleic acid sequences (contigs) assembled from SEQ ID NOs:1-154 (See FIG. 1) described above. Contigs were assembled by a computer program configured to match sequences with at least a 50 nucleotide overlap with at least 93% exact homology. The sequences for these contigs are provided in FIG. 2.

[0333] Contig 1 (Sequence ID NO: 155) (633 nucleotides) was assembled from SEQ ID NO: 120 and SEQ ID NO: 101. Sequence analysis of contig 1 revealed homology to a Fructokinase (GenBank accession NO: T07588).

[0334] Contig 2 (Sequence ID NO: 156) (1127 nucleotides) was assembled from SEQ ID NO: 132, SEQ ID NO: 131, SEQ ID NO: 139 and SEQ ID NO: 138. Sequence analysis of contig 2 revealed homology to a Chloroplast Transketolase (NO: Q42676).

[0335] Contig 3 (Sequence ID NO: 157) (1991 nucleotides) was assembled from SEQ ID NO: 132, SEQ ID NO: 145, SEQ ID NO: 146, SEQ ID NO: 141, SEQ ID NO: 143, SEQ ID NO: 148, SEQ ID NO: 147, SEQ ID NO: 140, SEQ ID NO: 135 and SEQ ID NO: 144. Sequence analysis of contig 3 revealed homology to a Chloroplast Transketolase Precursor (GenBank accession NO: Q43848).

[0336] Contig 4 (Sequence ID NO: 158) (607 nucleotides) was assembled from SEQ ID NO: 133 and SEQ ID NO: 134. Sequence analysis of contig 4 revealed homology to a Guanosine Kinase (GenBank accession NO: BAA23613).

[0337] Contig 5 (Sequence ID NO:159) (452 nucleotides) was assembled from SEQ ID NO: 7 and SEQ ID NO: 6. Sequence analysis of contig 5 reveals homology to a hypothetical protein from A. thaliana (GenBank accession NO: T02532).

[0338] Contig 6 (Sequence ID NO: 160) (391 nucleotides) was assembled from SEQ ID NO: 9 and SEQ ID NO: 15. Sequence analysis of contig 6 reveals homology to a Translation Releasing Factor, RF-1 like protein from A. thaliana (GenBank accession NO: CAB87736).

[0339] Contig 8 (Sequence ID NO:162) (800 nucleotides) was assembled from SEQ ID NO: 33 and SEQ ID NO: 34. Sequence analysis of contig 08 reveals homology to a putative Ferritin Subunit Precursor (GenBank accession NO: AC009991).

[0340] Contig 10 (Seq ID NO: 164) (771 nucleotides) was assembled from SEQ ID NO: 22 and SEQ ID NO: 13. Sequence analysis of contig 10 reveals homology to a hypothetical A. thaliana protein (GenBank accession NO: T04685).

[0341] Contig 12 (Sequence ID NO: 165) (633 nucleotides) was assembled from SEQ ID NO: 130 and SEQ ID NO: 149. Sequence analysis of contig 12 reveals homology to a Fructokinase from A. thaliana (GenBank accession NO: T01971).

[0342] Contig 13 (Sequence ID NO: 166) (581 nucleotides) was assembled from SEQ ID NO: 50 and SEQ ID NO: 45. Sequence analysis of contig 13 reveals homology to an ATP11a Peroxidase from A. thaliana (GenB ank accession NO: CAA67334).

[0343] Contig 14 (Sequence ID NO: 167) (701 nucleotides) was assembled from SEQ ID NO: 53 and SEQ ID NO: 43. Sequence analysis of contig 14 reveals homology to a Ferridoxin-Thioredoxin Reductase Subunit A from Zea maize (GenBank accession NO: P80680).

[0344] Contig 15 (Sequence ID NO: 168) (693 nucleotides) was assembled from SEQ ID NO: 129 and SEQ ID NO: 127. Sequence analysis of contig 15 reveals homology to a Chloroplast Transketolase Precursor (GenBank accession NO: Q43848).

[0345] Contig 16 (Sequence ID NO: 169) (504 nucleotides) was assembled from two copies of Seq ID NO: 67. Sequence analysis of contig 16 reveals homology to a hypothetical protein, F17K2.25, from A. thaliana (GenBank accession NO: T02475).

[0346] Contig 17 (Sequence ID NO: 170) (1626 nucleotides) was assembled from SEQ ID NO: 121, SEQ ID NO: 125, SEQ ID NO: 81 and SEQ ID NO: 124. Sequence analysis of contig 17 reveals homology to Chloroplast Precursor Transketolase (GenBank accession NO: Q43848).

[0347] Contig 20 (Sequence ID NO: 171) (649 nucleotides) was assembled from SEQ ID NO: 122 and SEQ ID NO: 123. Sequence analysis of contig 20 reveals homology to a Fructokinase from L. esculentum (GenBank accession NO: AAB51108).

[0348] In other embodiments, the present invention comprises nucleic acids corresponding to contigs developed by searching a nucleic acid database (this database contains other sequences developed for the screening programs as described in the Examples) for sequences having homology at the amino acid level. These sequences were then assembled into contigs based on sequence overlaps and a consensus nucleic acid sequence was developed. These contigs are provided in FIGS. 3 and 4 and correspond to SEQ ID NOs.: 172-216.

[0349] In still further embodiments, the present invention provides orthologs identified by searching the nucleic acid database for homologous sequences. These orthologs, SEQ ID NOs: 217-280, are provided in FIG. 5.

[0350] In addition, a blast search of the sequence database at a stringency of e-20 was conducted with SEQ ID NOs:281-343. This led to the identification of the contig and singleton sequences listed in FIG. 9, SEQ ID NOs:344-571.

[0351] As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the present invention is not limited to the particular sequences of the contigs and orthologs described above. Indeed, the present invention encompasses portions, fragments, and variants of the contigs and orthologs as described above. Such variants, portions, and fragments can be produced and identified as described in Section III above. In particularly preferred embodiments, the present invention provides sequences that hybridize to SEQ ID NOs: 155-280 and 344-571 under conditions ranging from low to high stringency. In other preferred embodiments, the present invention provides nucleic acid sequences that inhibit the binding of SEQ ID NOs:155-280 and 344-571 under conditions ranging from low to high stringency. Furthermore, as described above in Section IV, the contigs and orthologs can be incorporated into vectors for expression in a variety of hosts, including transgenic plants.

[0352] XI. Sequences Conferring Pesticidal Resistance or Tolerance

[0353] The present invention also provides nucleic acid sequences that confer resistance or tolerance to pests and insects. It is contemplated that expression of these polypeptides in plants reduces the susceptibility of plants to damage by insects or pests. In preferred embodiments, nucleic acids that confer insect tolerance or resistance to plants are selected from SEQ ID NOs: 3, 150, 151, 26, 31, 36, 58, 78, 94, 106, 107, 110, 112, 113, 114, 117, 123. These sequences were identified in the insect screen described below (see Example 12C). The present invention is not limited to any particular mechanism of action. Indeed, an understanding of the mechanism of action is not necessary to practice the present invention. However, it is believed that expression of the nucleic acids in plants can lead to insect tolerance or resistance by a variety of methods. In some instances, resistance or tolerance is conferred through a secondary effect of expression of the nucleic acid (for example, expression results in the production of metabolic compounds, such as sterols, that are toxic to an insect).

[0354] In other instances, expression of the nucleic acid sequence may also result in the production of a polypeptide that is directly toxic to an insect. Such polypeptides can be expressed from any of the six open reading frames in the nucleic acids corresponding to SEQ ID NOs:3, 150, 151, 26, 31, 36, 58, 78, 94, 106, 107, 110, 112, 113, 114, 117, 123 and portions thereof. These sequences are also useful for screening databases for orthologs. It is contemplated that these orthologs will also have pesticidal activity. Insecticidal activity of potions of the insecticidal polypeptides can be determined by synthesizing the portions or expressing the portions in plants and exposing insects to plant material comprising the polypeptides. An example of such an assay is provided in Example 12C.

[0355] The polypeptides may be administered as a secretion or cellular protein originally expressed in a heterologous prokaryotic or eukaryotic host. Bacteria are typically the hosts in which proteins are expressed. Eukaryotic hosts could include but are not limited to plants, insects, and yeast. Alternatively, the toxins may be produced in bacteria or transgenic plants in the field or in the insect by a baculovirus vector. Typically insects will be exposed to toxins by incorporating one or more of the toxins into the food/diet of the insect.

[0356] Complete lethality to feeding insects is preferred, but is not required to achieve functional activity. If an insect avoids the toxin or ceases feeding, that avoidance will be useful in some applications, even if the effects are sublethal or lethality is delayed or indirect. For example, if insect resistant transgenic plants are desired, the reluctance of insects to feed on the plants is as useful as lethal toxicity to the insects since the ultimate objective is protection of insect-induced plant damage rather than insect death.

[0357] There are many other ways in which toxins can be incorporated into an insect's diet.

[0358] For example, it is possible to adulterate the larval food source with the toxic protein by spraying the food with a protein solution, as disclosed herein. Alternatively, the purified protein could be genetically engineered into an otherwise harmless bacterium, which could then be grown in culture, and either applied to the food source or allowed to reside in the soil in an area in which insect eradication was desirable. Also, the protein could be genetically engineered directly into an insect food source. For instance, the major food source for many insect larvae is plant material. Therefore the genes encoding the nucleic acid sequences described above can be transferred to plant material so that the plant material expresses the toxin of interest

[0359] It is within the scope of the invention as disclosed herein that the polypeptides may be truncated and still retain functional activity. By “truncated polypeptide” is meant that a portion of a polypeptide may be cleaved and yet still exhibit activity after cleavage. Cleavage can be achieved by proteases inside or outside of the insect gut. Furthermore, effectively cleaved proteins can be produced using molecular biology techniques wherein the DNA bases encoding the toxin are removed either through digestion with restriction endonucleases or other techniques available to the skilled artisan. After truncation, the proteins can be expressed in heterologous systems such as E. coli, baculoviruses, plant-based viral systems, yeast and the like and then placed in insect assays as disclosed herein to determine activity

EXAMPLES Example 1 Construction and Characterization of a Normalized Arabidopsis cDNA Library in GENEWARE Vectors

[0360] A. Plant Tissue Generation: Arabidopsis thaliana ecotype Columbia (0) seeds were sown and grown on PEAT LITE MIX (Speedling Inc., Sun City, Fla.) supplemented with NUTRICOTE fertilizer (Plantco Inc., Ontario, Canada). Plants were grown under a 16-hour light/8-hour dark cycle in an environmental controlled growth chamber. The temperature was set at 22° C. for daytime and 18° C. for nighttime. The entire plant, root, leaves and all aerial parts were collected 4 weeks post sowing. Tissue was washed in deionized water and frozen in liquid nitrogen.

[0361] B. RNA Extraction: High quality total RNA is isolated using a hot borate method. All solutions were made in DEPC-treated, double-deionized water and autoclaved. All glassware, mortars, pestles, spatulas, and glass rods were baked at 400° C. for four hours. All plasticware was DEPC-treated for at least three hours and then autoclaved.

[0362] Thirty-five ml of XT buffer (0.2 M Na borate decahydrate, 30 mM EGTA, 1% SDS (w/v), 1% deoxycholate, sodium) per 10 grams of tissue was dispensed into 50 ml Falcon tubes. PVP-40,000 was added to a final concentration of 2% (w/v). NP-40 was added to a final concentration of 1% (w/v). Tubes were placed in an 80° C. water bath. The mortar and pestles were then pre-cooled in liquid nitrogen. Proteinase K (0.5 mg/ml XT buffer) was dispensed into 250 ml centrifuge bottles and the bottles were then placed on ice.

[0363] The tissue was added to the pre-chilled mortar and pestle and ground to a fine powder. Working as quickly as possible, the tissue was transferred to a glass beaker using a spatula chilled in liquid nitrogen. DTT (1.54 mg/nl XT buffer) was added to the XT buffer/PVP/NP-40 buffer and was immediately added to the ground tissue. The tissue was homogenized using a polytron at level 5 for one minute. The homogenate was decanted into the 250 ml centrifuge bottle containing the proteinase K. The homogenate was incubated at 42° C., 100 rpm for 1.5 hours. Eighty microliters of 2M KCl/ml of XT buffer was added to the homogenate and gently swirled until mixed. The samples were then incubated on ice for one hour. The samples were centrifuged at 12,000×G in a BECKMAN JA-14 rotor (Beckman Instruments, Inc., Fullerton, Calif.) for 20 minutes at 4° C. to remove debris. The supernatant was then filtered through a funnel lined with sterile miracloth into a sterile 250 ml centrifuge bottle. Eight molar LiCl was added to a final concentration of 2M LiCl and the samples were incubated on ice overnight.

[0364] Precipitated RNA was pelleted by centrifugation at 12,000×G in a BECKMAN JA-14 rotor for 20 minutes (Beckman Instruments, Inc., Fullerton, Calif.) and the supernatant was discarded. The RNA pellet was washed in 5 ml of cold 2M LiCl in 30 ml centrifuge tubes. Glass rods and gentle vortexing were used to break and disperse the RNA pellet. The pellets were centrifuged in a Beckman JA-20 rotor for 10 krpm at 4° C. for 10 minutes. The supernatant was decanted. This wash step was repeated 3 times until the supernatant was relatively colorless. The RNA pellet was resuspended in 5 ml of 10 Tris-HCl (pH 7.5). The insoluble material was pelleted in a JA-17 at 10 k rpm for 10 minutes at 4° C. The supernatant was transferred to another 30 ml centrifuge tube and 0.1× volume of 2M K-acetate (pH 5.5) was added. The samples were incubated on ice for 15 minutes and centrifuged in a BECKMAN JA-17 rotor (Beckman Instruments, Inc., Fullerton, Calif.) at 10 k rpm, 4° C., for 10 minutes to remove polysaccharides and insoluble material. The supernatant was transferred to a sterile 30 ml centrifuge tube and RNA was precipitated by adding 2.5× volumes of 100% ethanol. The RNA was precipitated overnight at −20° C. The precipitated RNA was pelleted by centrifugation at 9 krpm, 4° C. for 30 minutes in a JA-17 rotor. The RNA pellet was washed with 5 ml of cold 70% ethanol and centrifuged in a JA-17 rotor at 9 k rpm, 4° C. for 10 minutes. The residual ethanol was removed using a BECKMAN speed vac (Beckman Instruments, Inc., Fullerton, Calif.). The RNA pellet was resuspended in 3 ml of DEPC-ddH 0+1 mM EDTA. The RNA was precipitated with 0.1× volumes of 3M Na-acetate pH 6.0 and 2× volumes of cold 100% ethanol. The RNA was put at −80° C. for storage. A BECKMAN spectrophotometer (Beckman Instruments, Inc., Fullerton, Calif.) was used to measure absorbance (A) at A₂₆₀ and A₂₈₀. The A₂₆₀ was used to determine concentration (40 μg RNA/ml=1 A₂₆₀ absorbance unit) and the A₂₆₀/A₂₈₀ ratio was used to determine the initial quality of the RNA (1.8 to 2.0 is good).

[0365] The yield of total RNA from 60 g of tissue is ˜15 mg. Then, mRNA was isolated from total RNA using oligo (dT)₂₅ DYNABEADS (Dynal, Inc., Lake Success, N.Y.). Typically, 1% of total RNA population can be recovered as mRNA in Arabidopsis thaliana whole plant and from 5 μg of poly A⁺ RNA, approximate 4.5 μg of single strand cDNA and 6.7 μg of double strand cDNA was synthesized.

[0366] C. cDNA Synthesis: Poly A⁺ RNA was purified from total RNA using the oligo (dT) DYNABEADS kit (Dynal, Inc., Lake Success, N.Y.) according to manufacturers instructions. Briefly, DYNABEADS was resuspended by mixing on a roller and transfer 600 μl to an RNase free tube. The beads were further equilibrated with 2× binding buffer (20 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.5, 1M LiCl, 2 mM EDTA) twice and resuspended in 200 μl of 2× binding buffer. Total RNA 1 mg/200 μl) was heated at 70° C. for 5 minutes and incubated with the above oligo (dT) DYNABEADS for 10 min at RT. The supernatant containing unbound rRNA and tRNA was subsequently removed by magnetic stand and washed twice with 1× wash buffer (10 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.5, 0.15M LiCl, 1 mM EDTA). The mRNA was eluted from the DYNABEADS in ddH₂O and used as the starting material for double strand cDNA synthesis.

[0367] Double strand cDNA was synthesized either with NotI-(dT)₂₅ primer or on oligo (dT) DYNABEADS based on the manufacturers instruction (Gibco-BRL superscript system). Typically, 5 μg of poly A⁺ RNA was annealed and reverse transcribed at 37° C. with SUPERSCRIPT II reverse transcriptase (Stratagene, La Jolla, Calif.). For the non-normalized cDNA library, double stranded cDNAs were ligated to a 500 to 1000-fold molar excess SalI adaptor, restriction enzyme NotI digested and size-selected by column fractionation. Those cDNAs were then cloned directionally into the XhoI-NotI sites of the TMV expression vector, 1057 N/P.

[0368] D. Normalization Procedure: For the normalized cDNA preparation, the supernatant was removed from the DYNABEADS and the cDNA containing beads were washed twice with 1×TE buffer. To carry out the normalization process, the second strand cDNA were eluted from the beads. One hundred μl of TE buffer was added to the beads and heated at 95° C. for 5 min and the supernatant was then collected on magnetic stand. The above procedure was repeated once to ensure complete elution. The yield of second strand cDNA was quantitated using a UV spectrophotometer.

[0369] First strand EDNA beads is combined with second strand cDNA in 4×SSC, 5× Denhardt's and 0.5% SDS for multiple rounds of short hybridization. Since the second strand cDNA was synthesized using the first strand cDNA as the template, approximately the same amount of first and second strand cDNAs were present in the hybridization reaction. Nine μg of second strand cDNA in 200 l of 1×TE buffer was added to the cDNA driver (first strand cDNA on beads) in a screw cap tube. The reaction was heated at 95° C. for 5 min, then 60 μl of 20×SSC, 30 μl of 50× Denhardt's (1% of Ficoll, 1% of polyvinylpyrrolidone and 1% of bovine serum albumin) and 15 μl of 10% SDS were added and the reaction was brought to 65° C. for 8 hours.

[0370] The beads and supernatant were separated at 65° C. by magnet. The supernatant was transferred to a fresh tube and kept at 65° C. The beads were regenerated by adding 200 μl of ddH₂O and heated at 95° C. for 5 min. We collected the beads for the next round of hybridization and kept the solution containing the bound second strand cDNA for further analysis. The partially normalized second strand cDNA solution was added back to the regenerated beads and a return to another round of hybridization of 8 hours. This procedure was repeated 4-5 times.

[0371] E. Slot blot analysis: To follow the process of cDNA normalization a rapid slot blot procedure was developed. Following sequencing of 960 cDNAs, 46 cDNAs were selected to follow the representation of various classes of cDNAs through the normalization procedure. Based on their frequency of appearance in the sequence, these clones represent transcripts of different expression levels (high, moderate and low). Ten nanograms of each cDNA were deposited onto a HYBOND-N⁺ membrane (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, Chicago, Ill.) along with control vector (pBS) and water controls. DNA was denatured, neutralized, and subsequently crosslinked into the membrane using UV-STRATALINKER 2400 (Stratagene, La Jolla, Calif.).

[0372] cDNAs from either non-normalized or normalized pool were labeled with ³²P and hybridized on the slot blot membrane overnight at 65° C. in 1% bovine serum albumin, 1 mM ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), 0.5 M sodium phosphate (pH 7.2), and 7% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Then, blots were washed once in 1×SSC/0.2% SDS for 20 min at room temperature followed by two washes in 0.2×SSC/0.2% SDS for 20 min. at 650C. The resulting membranes were then developed using a PHOSPHORIMAGER (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, Chicago, Ill.) and quantitated using available software.

[0373] F. Conversion of single-stranded normalized cDNAs to double-stranded form: Second strand normalized cDNA in hybridization solution was purified by QIAQUICK column (QIAGEN GmbH, Hilden, Germany) and eluted in 88 μl of ddH₂O (total ˜1.2 μg of DNA is recovered). One μl (3 μg) of NotI-oligo dT primer was added and heated at 95° C. for 5 min followed by cool down to 37° C. The first strand cDNA was extended with T7 DNA polymerase (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, Chicago, Ill.) in the presence of dNTP in 120 μl reaction at 37° C. for 1 hour. T4 DNA polymerase (NEB) was then used to polish the ends following the extension reaction for 5 min at 16° C. The resulting double strand cDNA was ethanol precipitated and ligated with 500- to 1000-fold molar excess of SalI adaptor followed by NotI digestion. The resulting cDNAs were size-fractionated using a Clontech spin column 400 and the first two fractions that contained the cDNAs were pooled and used for the subsequent cloning process.

[0374] G. Construction of cDNA libraries in GENEWARE vectors: (+) Sense cDNA clones were prepared as follows. The Tobacco Mosaic Virus expression vector, 1056GTN-AT9 was linearized with NotI and XhoI and a 900 bp stuffer DNA was removed. The presence of the stuffer DNA in between those two sites is to ensure the complete digestion by restriction enzymes and thus achieve the high cloning efficiency. The digested vector was gel purified and then used to set up ligation reaction with normalized cDNA SalI-NotI fragments to generate (+) sense cDNA clones.

[0375] (−) Sense cDNA clones were prepared as follows. The Tobacco Mosaic Virus expression vector 1057 NP also linearized with NotI and XhoI and a stuffer DNA fragment was removed. The digested vector was gel purified and used to set up ligation reaction to generate (−) sense strand library.

[0376] Each ligation was transformed into chemically competent E. coli cells, DH5 (according to manufacturer s instruction (Life Technologies, Rockville, Md.). Preliminary analysis of cloning efficiency was measured by plating of a small portion of the transformation, while archiving the majority for future applications. Vector-only ligations gave ˜2×10⁴ cfu/μg vector and ligations with cDNA insertions gave ˜5×10⁵ cfu/μg.

[0377] To support the ability to transfect plants, a TMV based vector identified as PBSG1057 was deposited under the Budapest Treaty with the ATCC. It is designated ATCC # 203981. A linker sequence 5′- CCCACGCGTCCG-3′ is placed at the 5′ end of each sequence for insertion into the viral vector.

[0378] H. Analysis of Normalized cDNA populations: With each successive round of kinetic re-association, the total cDNA population is depleted thereby confirming the removal of a population of the cDNA from the mixture at each step. To further understand the consequences of this depletion and measure the relative normalization in cDNA representation following various stages of the kinetic re-association method, slot blots of 46 genes of varying representations were hybridized with probes made from non-normalized and normalized cDNA preparations. The resulting blots were then analyzed for representation by PHOSPHORIMAGER analysis. The hybridization pattern of non-normalized cDNA to the gene array reveals a quite asymmetric representation with some genes hybridizing with great intensity while others showing no hybridization at all. The variance among hybridization intensities for each spot within the filter was measured by standard deviation and found to be 649. In order to analyze the cDNA fraction depleted from the mixture, the first strand magnetic bead matrix was eluted, a radioactive probe was generated and hybridized to a replica of the slot blot described above. The hybridization intensity shows that primarily cDNAs of higher copy number were bound and removed from the normalized cDNA population, confirming that the depletion phenomenon correlated with removal of primarily high copy number cDNAs. The cDNA population not bound to first strand magnetic beads after 5 serial passages was collected, radioactive probe was generated and hybridized to a replica slot blot of known gene set described above. The resulting hybridization pattern is in striking contrast to that of the non-normalized cDNA and to that of the bound cDNA fraction. Assuming that the majority of the hybridization signal to the slot blot for the non-normalized cDNA blot results from hybridization to high abundance genes, an initial comparison can be between the number of bound counts on the normalized versus non-normalized slot blots. This comparison is possible since each probe added to the blots was derived from the same quantity of cDNA material and an equal number of probe counts were applied to the blots. The non-normalized blot contained 17,898 counts while the normalized blot contained only 1494 counts. This represents a 12-fold reduction in overall signal indicating a significant reduction in high gene copy number in the normalized cDNA population.

[0379] When the hybridization intensity of the non-normalized cDNA probe to each gene is plotted against the relative number of counts (following subtraction of the pBS vector control intensity from each sample), there is almost a 4-log difference in sequence representation in the cDNA population and an overall variance in standard deviation of 649-fold. In contrast, the hybridization of normalized cDNA probe to each gene revealed a average 32-fold difference. This represents both a reduction in high copy cDNAs and an increased representation in low copy cDNAs by >3 logs. The variance between the most highly represented cDNA and lowest represented cDNA within the normalized cDNA population was ˜1.5 logs. The above values characterizing the degree of library normalization are equivalent to those achieved by Soares, et al. (1994).

[0380] I. Analysis of GENEWARE clones: To ascertain the cloning efficiency of normalized cDNA into each vector and the average insert size, 96 random colonies were picked and grown by standard methods. DNA was isolated from bacteria using a BIOROBOT 9600 (QIAGEN GmbH, Hilden, Germany). DNA was digested with Not I and BsiWI restriction endonucleases (recognition sites flank the cDNA insertion). The digestions were separated on agarose gels and visualized by ethidium bromide staining. The digestions revealed a vector religation background of 4%. Ligations giving >75% insertions were passed as to quality control and more colonies were picked. Approximately 600 independent clones were analyzed by restriction digestion as described above. Interestingly, a similar percentage of vector background was detected 4% and the average insert size in the vector was ˜1 kb, with many inserts with 2 kb or greater sized inserts. Following analysis of DNA by restriction mapping, DNA was subjected to sequencing and further analysis.

[0381] J. Sequence Analysis of the Normalized Arabidopsis Library in GENEWARE Initial analysis of non-normalized Arabidopsis cDNA library required the sequencing of 1709 independent clones. Three 96-well plates (SeqID # 56601-56896) of randomly picked normalized Arabidopsis library in GENEWARE [(−) sense] were initially sequenced by primer TP6 to yield 262 5′ sequences and passed sequence quality control. Initially, internal cluster analysis was performed to identify identical sequences in this sequence subset. Analysis using BLASTN algorithm showed that of the 262 sequences analyzed, 252 were unique and only 10 were found to cluster into five two-member clusters. We then identified the redundancy of the sequences against the larger public databases. For cluster analysis, we used a very low BLASTX score criteria (e=10⁻⁶) and compared all sequences against the GENBANK nr database United States Department of Health and Human Services). In this manner, we could derive the most information concerning the redundancy, gene type found and open reading frame status of all clones simultaneously. The low BLASTX score was used to allow all possible protein homologues to be identified. The clustering analysis revealed that of the 262 sequences there were 252 single member sequence clusters and five two-gene clusters. This represents 96% singletons from this sample size. The genes appearing more than once in the library varied from two different chlorophyll a/b binding proteins, lipid transport proteins to ferrodoxin-thioredoxin reductases. This result compares quite favorably to the 4 redundant clones (of one gene type) identified by Soares, et al. (1994) from 187 randomly picked clones from one normalized library.

[0382] Further analysis of the sequences from the GENEWARE normalized cDNA library revealed that of the 262 sequences subjected to BLASTX search of the GENBANK nr database, 29% of the sequences failed to show significant homology to any characterized protein or open reading frame (ORF). Of the 252 singletons in the library, 179 showed single hit to an identified ORF, while 73 showed no hit. These results suggest that, in spite of the well-characterized nature of the sequence database quality libraries can still contain a high proportion of new expressed sequences.

[0383] The excellent representation and extremely low redundancy observed in these initial plates of normalized Arabidopsis cDNAs in GENEWARE prompted us to sequence additional clones. This was important because there is often a significant bias in small sample sizes with regard to representation. A total of 1,151 sequences passed sequence quality control. Internal cluster analysis showed that ˜260 multi-sequence clusters were present, with the highest representation at 6 members and the majority with only 2 members (˜150). About 600 unique clusters were identified from the total of 856 clusters from the 1 151 sequences. Therefore, from the 1151 sequences analyzed, 1,010 unique genes were identified, or a 87.7% gene discovery rate. In contrast, internal cluster analysis of the non-normalized Arabidopsis cDNA sequences revealed ˜840 multi-gene clusters with the highest represented cluster containing 27 members. Cluster analysis of the 1709 non-normalized Arabidopsis cDNAs revealed clusters of 27 members and many other highly populated clusters. The dramatic difference in the normalized population is clearly observed by plotting cluster number versus number of members.

[0384] Further comparison of 1,151 randomly chosen non-normalized sequences for redundancy with the results from the 1,151 normalized population clearly shows the positive effects of normalization and the greater number of unique genes identified from this normalized population. The reduction in the representation of individual genes in the normalized library compared with the non-normalized population can be observed. Clearly, many genes that have representations of >12 in the non-normalized library have been reduced to 1-4 members in the normalized population. One chlorophyll a/b binding protein gene shows a reduction from 15 members in the non-normalized population to 1 in the normalized library, whereas a gene encoding a distinct chlorophyll a/b binding protein shows less reduction (7 as compared with 5) in the normalized gene population. This is consistent with the observation that certain genes did not undergo the same degree of normalization compared with other genes.

[0385] Additional sequences from the normalized Arabidopsis library were obtained by sequence analysis. BLASTN analysis of the 1,343 normalized sequences revealed that 858 were represented in the Arabidopsis EST database, while the remaining 485 sequences were apparently unique, with no obvious homologue in the database. Of those sequences showing BLASTN hits, 43.6% showed coverage of the first through tenth base in the longest EST in the database. Furthermore, 242 of the 858 (28%) showed 5 sequences that were at the first base of the longest EST or longer. These data show that the cDNAs cloned into GENEWARE are of significant quality and represent, in many cases, the longest 5 sequences obtained to date. To further ascertain the proportion of cDNAs containing full-length protein open reading frames, we employed the ORF finder program used to analyze the ABRC library for sense clones. This algorithm checks for ATG sequences in the first 70 bases of a sequence and then scans for sequences lacking an in-frame stop codon for at least 300 nt downstream in the same frame. To understand the number of quality open reading frames (ORFs) in a library, we used the ABRC library as a benchmark. Analysis of 11,957 sequences within the ABRC library with the ORF finder program revealed 3,207 hits (26.8%) with putative open reading frames. From the 1,343 sequences of the normalized Arabidopsis cDNA library in GENEWARE, 907 (67.5%) were hits using the ORF finder program. Coupling the number of cDNAs that represent near the 5′ end of the known RNA sequence (43.6%) with the number of clones that contain putative intact OREs (67.5%) testifies to the quality and integrity of the cDNAs in the GENEWARE vector. These data clearly indicate a high proportion of full-length clones.

[0386] K. Quantity of Normalized Arabidopsis cDNAs Cloned into GENEWARE Vectors: As previously described, the normalized Arabidopsis cDNA population was cloned into GENEWARE(vectors in both the positive (+) and negative (−) sense direction to allow for both over expression and gene knockout analysis. The total number of clones in the 1057 PN vector in negative orientation was 20,160. These were arrayed into 210 96-well glycerol stock plates. Likewise, 20,160 clones from the ligation of normalized Arabidopsis cDNA in sense orientation into 1056 GTN vector have been arrayed in 210 96-well glycerol stock plates. These numbers clearly show that the GENEWARE vectors can be used as primary cloning vectors and that very complex libraries can be obtained in two orientations from a single pool on non-amplified normalized cDNA.

Example 2 Construction of Tissue-specific N. benthamiana cDNA Libraries

[0387] A. mRNA Isolation: Leaf, root, flower, meristem, and pathogen-challenged leaf cDNA libraries were constructed. Total RNA samples from 10-5 μg of the above tissues were isolated by TRIZOL reagent (Life Technologies, Rockville, Md.). The typical yield of total RNA was 1 mg PolyA⁺RNA was purified from total RNA by DYNABEADS oligo (T)₂₅. Purified mRNA was quantified by UV absorbance at OD₂₆₀ The typical yield of mRNA was 2% of total RNA. The purity was also determined by the ratio of OD₂₆₀/OD₂₅₀. The integrity of the samples had OD values of 1.8-2.0.

[0388] B. cDNA Synthesis: cDNA was synthesized from mRNA using the SUPERSCRIPT plasmid system (Life Technologies, Rockville, Md.) with cloning sites of NotI at the 3′ end and SalI at the 5′ end. After fractionation through a gel column to eliminate adapter fragments and short sequences, cDNA was cloned into both GENEWARE vector p1057 NP and phagemid vector PSPORT in the multiple cloning region between Not1 and Xho1 sites. Over 20,000 recombinants were obtained for all of the tissue-specific libraries.

[0389] C. Library Analysis: The quality of the libraries was evaluated by checking the insert size and percentage from representative 24 clones. Overall, the average insert size was above 1 kb, and the recombinant percentage was >95%.

Example 3

[0390] Construction of Normalized N. benthamiana cDNA Library in GENEWARE Vectors

[0391] A. cDNA synthesis. A pooled RNA source from the tissues described above was used to construct a normalized cDNA library. Total RNA samples were pooled in equal amounts first, then polyA⁺RNA was isolated by DYNABEADS oligo (dT)₂₅. The first strand cDNA was synthesized by the Smart III system (Clontech, Palo Alto, Calif.). During the synthesis, adapter sequences with Sfi1a and Sfi1b sites were introduced by the polyA priming at the 3′ end, and 5′ end by the template switch mechanism (Clontech, Palo Alto, Calif.). Eight μg first strand cDNA was synthesized from 24 μg mRNA. The yield and size were determined by UV absorbance and agarose gel electrophoresis.

[0392] B. Construction of Genomic DNA driver. Genomic DNA driver was constructed by immobilizing biotinylated DNA fragments onto streptavidin-coated magnetic beads. Fifty μg genomic DNA was digested by EcoR1 and BamH1 followed by fill-in reaction using biotin-21-dUTP. The biotinylated fragments were denatured by boiling and immobilized onto DYNABEADS by the conjugation of streptavidin and biotin.

[0393] C. Normalization Procedure. Six μg of the first strand cDNA was hybridized to 1 μg of genomic DNA driver in 100 μl of hybridization buffer (6×SSC, 0.1% SDS, 1× Denhardt's buffer) for 48 hours at 65° C. with constant rotation. After hybridization, the cDNA bound on genomic DNA beads was washed 3 times by 20 μl 1×SSC/0.1% SDS at 65° C. for 15 min and one time by 0.1×SSC at room temperature. The cDNA bound to the beads was then eluted in 10 μl of fresh-made 0.1N NaOH from the beads and purified by using a QIAGEN DNA purification column (QIAGEN GmbH, Hilden, Germany), which yielded 10 ng of normalized cDNA fragments. The normalized first strand cDNA was converted to double strand cDNA in 4 cycles of PCR with Smart primers annealed to the 3′ and 5′ end adapter sequences.

[0394] D. Evaluation of normalization efficiency. Ninety-six non-redundant cDNA clones selected from a randomly sequenced pool of 500 clones of a previously constructed whole seedling library were used to construct a nylon array. One hundred ng of the normalized cDNA fragments vs. the non-normalized fragments were radioactively labeled by ³²P and hybridized to DNA array nylon filters. The hybridization images and intensity data were acquired by a PHOSPHORIMAGER (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, Chicago, Ill.). Since the 96 clones on the nylon arrays represent different abundance classes of genes, the variance of hybridization intensity among these genes on the filter were measured by standard deviation before and after normalization. Our result indicated that by using this type of normalization approach, we could achieve a 1000-fold reduction in variance among this set of genes.

[0395] E. Cloning of normalized cDNA into GENEWARE vector. The normalized cDNA fragments were digested by Sfi1 endonuclease, which recognizes 8-bp sites with variable sequences in the middle 4 nucleotides. After size fractionation, the cDNA was ligated into GENEWARE vector p1057 NP in antisense orientation and transformed into DH5α cells. Over 50,000 recombinants were obtained for this normalized library. The percentage of insert and size were evaluated by Sfi digestion of randomly picked 96 clones followed by electrophoresis on 1% of agarose gel. The average insert size was 1.5 kb, and the percentage of insert was 98% with vector only insertions of >2%.

[0396] F. Sequence analysis of normalized cDNA library. Two plates of 96 randomly picked clones have been sequenced from the 5′ end of cDNA inserts. One hundred ninety-two quality sequences were obtained after trimming of vector sequences and other standard quality checking and filtering procedure, and subjected to BLASTX search in DNA and protein databases. Over 40% of these sequences had no hit in the databases. Clustering analysis was conducted based on accession numbers of BLASTX matches among the 112 sequences that had hits in the databases. Only three genes (tumor-related protein, citrin, and rubit) appeared twice. All other members in this group appeared only once. This was a strong indication that this library is well-normalized. Sequence analysis also revealed that 68% of these 192 sequences had putative open reading frames using the ORF finder program (as described above), indicating possible full-length cDNA.

[0397] Example 4

DNA Preparation

[0398] A. High Throughput Clone Preparation: Arraying of the ABRC library into GENEWARE vectors was conducted to obtain ˜5,000 antisense and ˜3,000 sense clones with minimal redundancy. The ligations were between highly purified and quality controlled GENEWARE cloning vector plasmids and the corresponding fragments from each individual pool of ABRC clones. Cloning efficiencies were in the range of 1×10⁵ to 5×10⁵ per μg of plasmid. Colonies were picked using a Flexys Colony Picker (The Sanger Centre, England) and manual methods. Colonies were applied to deep-well cell growth blocks (DWBs) and grown from 18-26 hours at 37° C. at ˜500 rpm in the presence of ampicillin concentrations of 500 μg/ml. From the almost 9,000 colonies picked by the Flexys, >97% of the cultures successfully grew. DNA was prepared using the QIAGEN BIOROBOT 9600 DNA robots and QIAGEN 96-well manifolds (manual preparation) at a rate of ˜2,000 DNA preparations per day. The final throughput, during campaign production, estimated for each system was ˜20 plates of 96 samples per day, per production line—robotic or manual. Such throughput could be sustained to generate 20-40,000 samples in a matter of one to two weeks of effort. During one ten day period, one hundred four (140) 96-well plates of DNA were produced.

[0399] B. Quality Control Methods: DNA samples were subjected to quality control (QC) analysis by at least one of two methods: 1) restriction endonuclease digestion and analysis by agarose gel electrophoresis (all plates) or 2) UV spectroscopy to determine DNA quantitation for all 96 samples of a plate (statistical sampling of each days output). For UV analysis, an aliquot of the DNA samples from each plate was taken and measured using a Molecular Dynamics UV spectrometer in 96-well format (Molecular Dynamics, Sunnyvale, Calif.). DNA concentrations of 0.05-0.2 (μg/μl with OD 260/280 ratios of 1.7±0.2 are expected. For DNA sequencing purposes (a downstream method to be used to analyze all hit samples), DNA quantity of ˜0.04-0.2 μg/μl is desired. In general, plates that contain >25% of samples not conforming to this metric are rejected and new DNA for the plate must be generated once again. For conformation of the presence of insertions and full-length GENEWARE vector, agarose gel electrophoresis of restriction endonuclease fragments was used. Aliquots of sixteen samples from each 96-well DNA plate were targeted for restriction digestion using Nco I and BstE II restriction endonucleases. Samples were separated on 1% agarose gels. Generally, plates that showed >25% of samples that were not full length or did not contain insertions were rejected. From a total of 140 96-well DNA plates prepared, 112 passed QC and were made available for generation of infectious units.

Example 5 High-Throughput DNA Sequencing and Sequence Analysis Protocols

[0400] A. Generation of Raw Sequence Data and Filtering Protocols: High-throughput sequencing was carried out using the PCT200 and TETRAD PCR machines (MJ Research, Watertown, Mass.) in 96-well plate format in combination with two ABI 377 automated DNA sequencers (PE Corporation, Norwalk, Conn.). The throughput at present is six 96-well plates per day.

[0401] The quality of sequence data is improved by filtering the raw sequence output from sequencer. One criteria is to make sure that the unreadable bases are less than 10% of the total number of bases for any sequence and that there are no more than ten consecutive Ns in the middle part of the sequence (40-450). The sequences that pass these tests are defined as being of high quality.

[0402] The second step for improving the quality of a sequence is to remove the vectors from the sequence. There are two advantages of this process. First, when locating the vector sequence, its position can be used to align to the input sequence. The quality of the sequence can be evaluated by the alignment between the vector sequence and the target sequence. Second, the removal of the vector sequence greatly improves the signal-to-noise ratio and makes the analysis of the resulting database search much easier. A third important prefiltering step is to eliminate the duplicates in a library so it will speed up the analysis and reduce redundant analyses.

[0403] B. Sequence Data Analysis and Bioinformatics: Once the filtering and the vector sequence removal steps are completed, the resulting sequences are subjected to database search. First, low sensitivity methods such as BLASTN and BLASTX can be used. For those sequences that have no hit, more sensitive methods, such as Blimps and Pfam can be used. To speed up the analysis process, appropriate filters may be used. For example, for EST sequences from a given cDNA library sequenced from the 5′ end, an ATG filter can be used to make sure that only full-length cDNA will be analyzed. The filtered sequence can be translated in one frame rather than six frames for Pfam analysis.

[0404] The results from the database search are stored in the relational database and can be used for further analysis. For example, all the BLAST results can be stored in a relational table that contains Query, Score, pValue, Hit, Length, Annotation, Frame, Identity, Homology, Query Length, Subject Length, Database Queried and Method used to analyze. Any result can be queried and analyzed by the fields mentioned. A database link between the analysis result database and the laboratory information management system (LIMS) will be created so that the analysis result can be related to the experimental data.

[0405] C. Metabolic Pathway Analysis: Many metabolic pathway databases have been constructed that group proteins based on their roles in a metabolic pathway. The basic identifiers for these proteins are E.C. numbers; therefore, the position of a given enzyme in a metabolic pathway may be determined based on its E.C. number. By querying the GENETHESAURUS database (DoubleTwist, Inc., Oakland, Calif.), the E.C. number of a protein can be obtained by its GenBank ID. This approach can be used to assign the corresponding E.C. number to the hits found for each cDNA sequence. By querying the metabolic pathway using the E.C. number of a hit, a potential link between this cDNA sequence and the metabolic pathway may be established. Each link can be used as a building block for a plant metabolic pathway. This potential link between cDNA sequence and metabolic pathway provides a starting point to analyze the gene s role in a metabolic pathway.

[0406] D. Sequence Analysis of Library Created from GENEWARE Vectors: Five hundred sixty-eight (568) independent clones were sequenced from the virus expression library and the clones from this library were analyzed by vector, N filters and BLAST analysis. Of the 568 initial sequences submitted for analysis, 131 were eliminated by the N-filter indicating that ˜15% of the sequence were undetermined Ns. The remaining 437 sequences were then subjected to analysis for duplication within each set of submitted plates. Fifty-five (55) sequences were removed due to this duplication filter. These sequences were BLASTN searched against 539 sequences from the AtwpLNLH library in Lambda Zap II. Thirty percent (30%) of the sequences (132 sequences) found a match in both libraries. From the original set of GENEWARE clones, 305 were found to be unique with respect to the Lambda Zap II library. These sequences were then BLASTX-searched against non-redundant GENBANK. From the 305 submitted sequences, 173 sequences found solid hits in protein coding sequence as determined by hit criteria and 132 were found to be unique. Further BLASTN analysis showed a range of sequence homology, but many represented hits to BAC or chromosomal sequences. A wide range of sequences were found including, ribosomal proteins, photosystem reaction center proteins, fumarase and other general metabolism proteins, transcription factors, kinase homologs, omega-6 fatty acid desaturase and various hypothetical proteins. These results strongly suggest that little or no bias is introduced during the construction of cDNA libraries in GENEWARE .

Example 6 Preparation of Infectious Units

[0407] DNA plates that pass QC testing were then moved to the next stage of the cycle, the generation of infectious units. In vitro RNA transcriptions have been optimized to produce maximal amounts of RNA in smaller volumes to reduce costs and increase the lifetime of a DNA preparation. A transcription mixture containing a 6-to-1 RNA cap structure-to-rGTP ratio, Ambion mMessage Machine buffer and enzyme mix (Ambion, Inc., Austin, Tex.) is delivered to a 96-well plate by the TECAN liquid handling robot (TECAN, Research Triangle Park, N.C.). To this reaction mix, the Robbins Scientific HYDRA 96-sample pipeting robot (Robbins Scientific, Sunnyvale, Calif.) delivers 2 μl of DNA solution. This final transcription reaction is incubated at 37° C. for 1.5 hours. Following incubation, the TECAN robot delivers 95 μl of a 100 mM Na/K PO₄ buffer containing TMV coat protein (devoid of all infectious RNA) to the transcription plate and it is incubated overnight. This incubation generates encapsidated transcripts, which are very stable at room temperature or 4° C. and amplified with regard to number of infectious units per (g of RNA transcript. The generation of infectious materials is measured by inoculation of GFP-expressing virus to systemic host or Nicotiana tabacum NN lines, incubation at permissive temperatures and counting of developing local lesions on inoculated leaves. Before addition of the TMV coat protein mixture, 0.5 μl from 8 wells of each transcription plate is removed and analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis. The presence of an RNA band of ˜1.6 to 3.5 kb is strong evidence for a successful transcription. If >25% contain only lower molecular weight RNA bands, or if the band is diffuse <500 bp of dsDNA marker, the transcription plate is considered to have failed and removed from the stream of plates prepared for inoculation. During a two-week period, 112 plates were transcribed and 108 plates were passed for plant inoculation in growth rooms and in the field.

Example 7 Plant Inoculation with Encapsidated RNA Transcripts

[0408] In order to prepare for plant inoculation, 90 μl of each encapsidated RNA transcript sample and 90 μl of FES transcript inoculation buffer (0.1M glycine, 0.06 M K₂HPO₄, 1% sodium pyrophosphate, 1% diatomaceous earth and 1% silicon carbide) were combined in the wells of a new 96-well plate. The 96 well plate was then placed on ice. Nicotiana benthamiana plants 14 days post sowing were removed from the greenhouse and brought into the laboratory. Humidity domes were placed over the plants to retain moisture. The RNA transcript sample was mixed by pipetting the solution prior to application to ensure that the silicon carbide and the diatomaceous earth were resuspended. The entire sample, 180 μl, was drawn up and pipetted in equal aliquots (approximately 30 μl), onto the first two true leaves of three separate Nicotiana benthamiana plants. The mixture was spread across the leaf surface using a TEXWIPE CLEANFOAM swab (The Texwipe Co, Upper Saddle River, N.J.). The wiping action caused by the swab together with the silicon carbide in the buffer sufficiently abrades the leaves so as to allow the encapsidated RNA transcript to enter the plant cell structure. Other methods used for inoculation have included pipetting of encapsidation-FES mixture onto leaves and rubbing by hand, cotton swab or nylon inoculation wand. Alternatively, nylon inoculation wands may be incubated in the transcript-FES mixture for ˜30 min to soak up ˜15 l and then rubbed directly onto the leaves.

[0409] Once an entire 32 plant flat was inoculated, the plants were misted with deionized water and the humidity domes were replaced over them. The inoculated plants were retained in the laboratory for 6 hours and then returned to the greenhouse. Once in the greenhouse, the humidity domes were removed and the plants were misted a second time with deionized water.

Example 8 Inoculated Plant Growth

[0410] Plants inoculated with encapsidated virus were grown in a greenhouse. Day length was set to 16 hours and shade curtains (33% transmittance) were used to reduce solar intensity. Whenever ambient light fell below 250 μmol m²s⁻¹, a 50:50 mixture of metal halide and sodium halide lamps (Sylvania), delivering an irradiance of approximately 250 μmol m²s⁻¹, were used to provide supplemental lighting. Evaporative cooling and steam heat were used to regulate temperature, with a daytime set point of 27° C. and a nighttime set point of 22° C. The plants were irrigated with Hogland's fertilizer mix as required. Drainage water was collected and treated with 0.5% sodium hypochlorite for 10 minutes before discharging into the municipal sewer.

[0411] To allow space for increased plant size, the inoculated N. benthamiana were repositioned at seven days post-inoculation (dpi) so that they occupied twice their original area. At 13 dpi, the plants were examined visually for symptoms of TMV infection and were assigned a numerical score to indicate the extent of viral infection (0=no infection, 1=possible infection, 2=limited/late infection, 3=typical infection, 4=severe infection). At the same time, the plants were assigned a fate for harvest (typically the highest quality plant in each triplicate was assigned to metabolic screens and the second highest quality plant was assigned to focused screens). In cases where plant symptoms deviated substantially from those of plants inoculated with control vectors, a description of plant phenotype was recorded (see below). At 14 dpi infected plants were harvested.

Example 9 Infectivity Analysis

[0412] The method to measure the infectivity of the transcript encapsidations was to inoculate a set of 96-well plates from both positive and negative sense clones and look for systemic virus movement and phenotype development. Of the 8,352 plants inoculated with unique encapsidated transcriptions, 6,266 became systemically infected for an infection rate of 76%. Overall, the majority of plates generated showed very good infection rates. As shown in a graph of the number of systemically infectious constructs per each individual plate plotted against plate number. The majority of plates had systemic rates >70% with one at 100%. Approximately 25 plates had infection rates ranging between 40 and 70% while only 6% (>5 plates) showed infection rates <45%.

[0413] A population of constructs did not show systemic infection on Nicotiana benthamiana plants. Analysis using the LIMS revealed a substantial correlation between a subset of inoculators and the transcription plates showing poor infection rates. These results strongly suggest that inoculation technique is critical for good infectivity although other possible causes could include poor DNA or transcription quality, or simply inoculation error. In some cases the constructs may be restricted to inoculated leaves by way of adverse influence of the gene insertion on virus replication and movement. For example, one observed healthy inoculated Nicotiana benthamiana plant exhibited clear chlorotic spots on inoculated leaves, yet no systemic symptoms. Other plants, not scored as infected in our LIMS, were observed to have subliminal infections in source tissues. It was clear that the properties of the genetic insertion had differing effects on virus phenotypic symptoms. Eighty-two of those constructs exhibiting poor systemic infection were re-inoculated into Nicotiana tabacum NN plants to test for local lesions. The presence of local lesions indicated infectious viral vectors. From this data, a statistical calculation can be made to determine the percentage of non-systemic infective constructs that are locally infectious. Plants were scored 6 days post-inoculation for the presence of localized necrotic lesions resulting from infection and localized movement of virus vectors on the inoculated leaves of the plants. Of the 82 constructs analyzed, 50 showed local lesions indicating the presence of infectious viral vectors. Based on the infection rate observed in Nicotiana benthamiana and NN tobacco plants, we estimate that 1,181 (˜61%) of the constructs not showing systemic infection on Nicotiana benthamiana plants were still infectious and amenable to biochemical analysis.

Example 10 Phenotypic Evaluation

[0414] At 13, dpi a visual examination was made to identify plants whose phenotype deviates substantially from plants infected with a GENEWARE control. The phenotypically different plants were divided into regions (for example: shoot apical region, infected phloem source leaves, stem) and descriptive terms were applied to each region to document the visual observation. Additionally, a confirmation was made as to whether or not the operator considered the plant to be a hit and a numerical score was applied to document the phytotoxic/herbicide effect of the RNA insert (1=possible effect, 2=mild, 3=moderate, 4=severe).

[0415] A matrix-style phenotypic database was created using the LIMS software. The LIMS software allows all descriptive terms to be used for any major part of the plant and the capacity of sub-parts to be described. Notable phenotypic events are captured by description of individual plant parts. The matrix is configured in a Web-based page that allows one to score infection and phenotyping using a graphic replicated of the physical arrangement of plants in the growth room. This approach is rapid, allowing 96 plants to be described in detail as being infected, not infected with a detailed phenotype in 15 min. Editing of output files can occur rapidly in MS Excel if desired. The output file is then loaded as CSV files into the LIMS where it is immediately available to Boolean query as to phenotype descriptors with “and, or, not” statements. Images of infected plants are linked to the SeqIDs in the database so that the plant tray bar code (for infection), well position, SeqID, phenotype and picture all link together when a query is made. This is linked back to the sequence database for sequence annotation data. Using this system, 8,352 phenotypic observations were made in the period of two days and entered into the LIMS. Hundreds of interesting visual phenotypes were observed.

[0416] One measured phenotype was stunting of plant growth. Plants infected with viral vectors comprising SEQ ID NOs: 1-154 exhibited a stunting phenotype in the initial assay.

Example 11 Field-Scale Genomics

[0417] The effects of gene over expression and gene silencing in plants may have dramatic differences when grown under different conditions. The Kentucky field test plots available to Large Scale Biology, Inc. provides an opportunity to subject plants to substantially different growth conditions and thereby broaden the chances of detecting various types of hits in a genomics screen. To compare the ability of virus vectors to be applied under field conditions and under controlled growth room conditions, we inoculated, in duplicate, 960 positive-sense constructs on Nicotiana benthamiana plants grown in the field test plot in Owensboro, Kentucky. This activity was concurrent with inoculations and screens performed in Vacaville, Calif. Complete encapsidated transcription reactions were prepared at Biosource Genomics in Vacaville, Calif. and following incubation with TMV coat protein, FES buffer was added to each well. All samples in column 12 of each plate contained encapsidated transcripts of 1057 vector containing the GFP gene. The mixture was then overnight-mailed to Owensboro, Kentucky where it was inoculated onto 4-5 week post-sowing plants by rubbing cotton swabs, pre-wetted by incubation with encapsidated transcript-FES mixture, on plant leaves. Plants were inoculated in duplicate. Plants were allowed to remain in the field for 4 weeks post-inoculation and then subjected to phenotypic analysis. Photographic documentation of the plants both pre- and post-inoculation was prepared. Plants were scored by visual evaluation as to number of infected plants compared with total number of plants inoculated. Of the 1920 plants inoculated, 1,712 (88%) showed systemic infections. More than 100 new phenotypes were noted in the field. Each was compared with the phenotype of the same construct inoculated into plants in Vacaville, Calif. growth rooms. Two new phenotypes are particularly noteworthy: two independent plants showed survival phenotypes under anaerobic conditions, whereas all neighbors had succumbed to root rot in a low spot in the field.

[0418] In order to evaluate the effect of gene silencing in Nicotiana tabacum plants, mRNA from Arabidopsis thaliana whole plants was subjected to fragment normalization such that small cDNA fragments were produced. The cDNA population showed high degree of normalization by hybridizations with known genes of variable expression and by comparison with non-normalized cDNA fragments. The average size of the normalized fragments in the GENEWARE vectors was between 400-500 bp allowing facile movement of the recombinant viruses systemically in field Nicotiana tabacum c.v. MD609 plants. A total of 11 plates of DNA constructs (1056) were prepared, transcribed and encapsidated with GFP constructs integrated at every 12th position. These were mixed with FES and overnight-mailed to Owensboro, Kentucky. These 1056 constructs were inoculated in duplicate (2112 total) on MD609 tobacco plants 11 weeks post-sowing. One set of the replicates (1056 plants) were scored by visual evaluation as to number of infected plants compared with total number of plants inoculated. Of the 1056 plants inoculated, 808 showed systemic infections, or 76.5% infection rate. Hits were determined by unusual visual symptoms and corresponding constructs will be characterized by DNA sequencing.

[0419] An uncharacterized GENEWARE library comprised of ˜20,000 Arabidopsis thaliana normalized fragment cDNAs and ˜10,000 of Nicotiana benthamiana genomic DNA fragments was prepared and sprayed as a population on Nicotiana tabacum c.v. MD609 plants. The Arabidopsis cDNA library, 10,000, was constructed by ligation into prepared GENEWARE vectors and purified from pooled bacterial transformants and followed by pooled transcription. The remaining 10,000 cDNA fragments were individual clones prepared and transcribed independently and then mixed in a pooled encapsidation. The Nicotiana library was a prototype cell-free cloning library from restriction endonuclease fragmented gDNA of <500 bp in size. The number of clones corresponds to an approximation of the amount of DNA undergoing complete ligation. Transcriptions from each non-encapsidated library were inoculated separately into Nicotiana tabacum protoplasts and allowed to incubate for three days. Cells were lysed and libraries combined. The pool of cell lysates and encapsidated transcriptions containing viral libraries were shipped to Owensboro, Kentucky where they were inoculated onto Nicotiana tabacum c.v. MD609 plants at 1, {fraction (1/10)}, {fraction (1/100)} and {fraction (1/000)} dilution of the mixed virion preparation (using 60 ml, 6 ml, 0.6 ml and 0.06 ml of the library respectively). Eight hundred (800) plants were spray-inoculated with each library virion dilution. Plants were visually scored and of the 3,200 plants inoculated, 1,304 showed visual symptoms 3 weeks post-infection. The infectivity rate varied from ˜60% for the most concentrated inoculum to ˜20% for the most dilute as would be expected due to dilution. Analysis will continue to define Hits by unusual visual symptoms and PCR amplification and DNA sequencing will characterize corresponding construct.

Example 12 Metabolic Screens

[0420] A. Harvest and Preparation of Tissues for Metabolic Screening. Fourteen dpi infected plants to be harvested were moved from the greenhouse to the laboratory. Plants were scanned and identified by a bar-code that linked the infected plant to the tissue sample. The infected tissue was cut off of the plant and placed in a corresponding centrifuge tube. A tungsten carbide ball was placed on top of the infected tissue sample. The tungsten carbide ball facilitates pulverization of plant tissue. The tubes and sample were stored on dry ice during the harvesting procedure. The samples were then stored at 700C. Before conducting a metabolic screen, the tissue samples must be pulverized. The sample tubes were loaded into a KLECO pulverizer and pulverized to create a fine powder of the tissue sample. The tissue sample powder was then weighed out into a metabolic extraction vial.

[0421] B. FAME Analysis Procedure for FAME Screen. Nicotiana benthamiana plants expressing genes of interest in RNA vectors were grown for 14 dpi as described above. Three leaf disks (0.5 cm in diameter) were placed in cell wells of a borosilicate 96-deepwell plate (Zinsser). 500 μl of heptane was added to each well using a Biomek 2000 Laboratory Automation Workstation. The heptane/tissue samples were stirred on a Bodine magnetic stirrer. After 30 minutes, 50 μl of 0.5N sodium methoxide in methanol was added to each well using the Biomek 2000. After 30 minutes of stirring, 10 μl of water was added to each well. Injections were made directly from the 96-deepwell plate into a Hewlett Packard gas chromatograph (GC) using a LEAP auto injector. The GC method involved a 2 μl injection into a split/splitless injection port using a DB 23 narrow bore column (15 M, 0.25 I.D.). The oven temperature was isothermic at 1700C. The injector temperature was 230° C. and the detector (flame ionization) temperature was 240° C. The run time was 5 minutes, with an equilibration time of 0.5 minutes. The split ratio was 20:1 and the helium flow rate was held at a constant pressure of 19 psi. This GC method allowed for separation and quantification of fatty acid methyl esters which included C16:0, C16: 1, Cl 8:0, Cl 8: 1, C18:2, and C18:3. Using a dual column GC, four 96-well plates could be sampled in less than 24 hours.

[0422] The following sequences exhibited a positive FAME result (had altered levels of the fatty acids assayed): SEQ ID NOs: 151, 52, and 94. The result of the FAME analysis for SEQ ID NO:94 is shown in Table 4. Table 7 shows the relative percent amounts of fatty acids found in plants transfected with a viral vector comprising SEQ ID NO: 94. An increase in 16:0 fatty acids was observed in 3 of the 5 samples assayed. Table 8 shows the relative percent amounts of fatty acids found in plants transfected with SEQ ID NOs: 52 and 151. TABLE 7 FAME Profile Sample 16:0 16:1 unk 16:3 unk 18:0 18:1 18:2 18:3 unk 1 24.7 3.4 1.1 3.2 2.6 2.6 3.3 9.2 47.8 2.0 2 20.1 2.9 0.8 4.6 2.9 3.5 7.1 9.2 46.7 2.3 3 17.6 1.8 1.0 3.5 2.9 2.2 6.0 11.8 50.4 2.7 4 23.3 1.9 1.0 3.1 4.6 3.8 8.9 10.6 37.6 5.3 5 23.0 2.6 0.7 3.5 1.6 2.3 3.8 8.1 52.9 1.6 control 19.6 2.8 1.1 3.3 1.8 1.8 3.1 12.0 53.6 1.0 control 18.4 2.7 1.1 3.3 1.7 1.7 3.1 11.3 55.4 1.3

[0423] TABLE 8 FAME Profile Sample 16:0 16:1 unk 16:3 unk 18:0 18:1 18:2 18:3 unk SEQ ID 23.0 3.5 1.9 2.6 1.7 2 3.3 11.7 49.1 1.3 NO: 52 SEQ ID 25.7 3.4 1.3 1.8 0.8 2.3 2.1 8 54.7 0 NO: 151 control 18.7 2.8 1.2 3.8 1.4 1.5 4.2 10.7 55 0.6

[0424] C. Insect Control Bioassays. Nicotiana benthamiana plants expressing genes of interest in RNA viral vectors were grown for 14 dpi as described previously. Fresh leaf tissue (sample size ˜2.5 cm diameter) was excised from the base of infected leaves using a scalpel and placed in insect-rearing tray (Bio RT32, C-D International) wells containing 3 ml of 2% agar. Using a small paintbrush to handle insects, 2 first-instar larvae of tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta) were placed in each well and trays were sealed using vented covers. Trays were then incubated at 28 C with 4S% humidity for 72 hours with a 12-hour photoperiod. Following incubation, samples were scored for mortality and leaf damage according to the following criteria: mortality, 0=0 dead/2 alive; 1=1 dead/1 alive; 2=2 dead/0 alive; leaf damage, 0=0 to 20% leaf consumed; 1=21 to 40% leaf consumed; 2=41 to 60% leaf consumed; 3=61 to 80% leaf consumed; and 4=81 to 100% leaf consumed. Following scoring, insects were weighed on an analytical balance and photographed using a digital camera.

[0425] The following sequences exhibited a positive insect control phenotype: SEQ ID Nos: 3, 150, 151, 26, 31, 36, 58, 78, 94, 106, 107, 110, 112, 113, 114, 117, 123.

[0426] D. Carbohydrate Screen. The dry residue was transferred from the extracting cartridge (10-20 mg) into a 100×13 mm glass tube containing 0.5 ml of 0.5 N HCl in methanol and 0.12 ml of methyl acetate and then sealed (Teflon coated screw cap) under nitrogen and heated for 16 hours at 800C. The liquid phase was then transferred using an 8-channel pipetter (Matrix) to a glass insert supported by a 96 well aluminum block plate (Modem Metal Craft) and evaporated to dryness (Concentrator Evaparray). The methyl-glycosides and methyl-glycoside methyl esters were silylated in 0.1 ml pyridine and 0.1 ml BSTFA+1% TMCS at room temperature for one hour. The sample generated was analyzed on a DB1 capillary column (15 meters) with an 11 minute program temperature (from 160° C. to 190° C. at 5° C./min and 190° C. to 298° C. at 36° C./minute and hold 2 minutes) and 3 minutes equilibration time. The following components of the plant cell wall were identified in the tobacco sample: arabinose, rhamnose, xylose, galactose, galacturonic acid, mannose, glucuronic acid and glucose.

[0427] E. GC/MS Metabolite Analysis: A 3 mm tungsten carbide ball bearing was placed into each well of a 96-well deep well block and 300 μl of grinding buffer (2 mM NaOH, 1 mM PMSF, 10 mM beta-mercaptoethanol, and deuterium-labeled compounds) was added to each well. A 13 mm circle (˜20 mg) leaf disc plug from 4 week old Nicotiana benthamiana (2 week post-inoculation) apical leaves were placed into the 96-well microtiter deepwell plate. The plate was tightly sealed and placed on a mechanical shaker (paint mixer, up to four at a time) for 2 min, then rotated 180° and shaken for an additional 2 min. Subsequently, the samples were spun for 10 min at 3200 RPM in a refrigerated (15° C.) centrifuge equipped for microtiter plates. Following centrifugation, the 96-well plate containing the homogenized samples was placed on a TECAN GENESIS RSP 200 (TECAN, Research Triangle Park, N.C.) liquid handler/robotics system. Both Logic and Gemini software were used to control the TECAN liquid handler. Approximately 200 μl was transferred to a pre-conditioned (1 ml MeOH followed by 1 ml of distilled deionized H₂O) Waters 96-well Oasis HLB solid phase extraction (SPE) plate by the TECAN liquid handler for metabolite analysis by GC/MS. The Waters Extraction Plate Manifold Kit and a vacuum not greater than 5 mm Hg was used to aspirate plant samples from SPE plate into a waste reservoir. The SPE plate was then washed with 1 ml of 5% MeOH in H₂O by aspirating into waste reservoir and compounds eluted from SP resin with 350 μl of MeOH into a 96-well collection plate. Samples were then transferred to GC autosampler vials, capped and stored in the freezer at 80° C. for metabolite analysis.

[0428] An internal standard solution was prepared by making a stock solution at a concentration of 1 μg/μl (using compound density). Grinding buffer (2 mM NaOH above) with the internal standard was prepared at a concentration of 10 ng/μl for each (3,000 ng/300 μl) to yield a concentration equivalent of approximately 150 ng/mg wet weight of plant tissue. Following extraction of plant material, this solution was transferred to the SPE plate by the TECAN liquid handler and extracted with 350 μl of MeOH. Approximately 20 μl of the sample will be injected onto a 30 m×0.32 mm DB-WAX (1 μm film thickness) GC column with a large volume injector during the preliminary study. The GC column oven was temperature held at 35 C for 5 min, then programmed at 2.5° C./min to 250° C. and held for 15 min.

[0429] Samples that contained peaks that were present in altered levels relative to control samples as identified from chromatograms were further analysis using mass spectroscopy. Samples that were transfected with the following nucleic acid sequences were found to have altered metabolic profiles: SEQ ID NO: 43, 49, 79, 84, and 94. Table 9 shows the retention time and % change in peaks relative to controls for several sequences. Table 9 also shows the identity of the peaks as determined by mass spectroscopy. TABLE 9 Metabolic Profiles SEQ ID NO RT (MIN) % Change Compound 43 10.68 +130 Malic Acid 43 11.63 +250 Ribonic Acid; Gamma- lactone 43 12.93 +260 Quinic Acid 43 14.12 +120 Inositol 79 10.67 +300 Malic Acid 79 10.87 +150 L-Aspartic Acid 79 10.92 +80 5-Oxo-L-Proline (pyroglutamic) 79 12.48 +100 Ribonic Acid 79 12.64 +800 Citric Acid 79 16.44 +60 Sucrose 94 FA 9.31 −95 Dodecanoic Acid (12:0) 94 FA 10.28 −90 Myristic Acid (14:0) 94 FA 11.20 +500 Hexadecenoic Acid (16:1) 94 FA 11.96 +200 Oleic Acid (18:1) 94 10.68 +700 Malic Acid 94 11.63 +300 Ribonic Acid; Gamma- lactone 94 12.33 +300 Phosphoric Acid 94 12.65 −1400 Citric Acid 94 12.93 +500 Quinic Aci 94 14.12 +800 Inositol 49 11.0 New 49 11.7 New

Example 13

[0430] Protein Profiling by MALDI-TOF

[0431] Approximately 14 days post-inoculation, 960 different N. benthamiana leaf plugs transfected with encapsidated virion from a GENEWARE expression library from growth rooms and 38 from N. benthamiana infected in Owensboro, Kentucky were collected and the soluble proteins extracted with a high throughput micro-extraction technique described below. An aliquot of this solution was automatically diluted with matrix by a liquid handler in preparation for analysis by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry for proteins.

[0432] A. Sample Preparation by High Throughput Micro-Extraction: A 3 mm tungsten carbide ball bearing was placed into each well of a 96-well deep well block and 300 μl of grinding buffer (2 mM NaOH, 1 mM PMSF, 10 mM beta-mercaptoethanol, and deuterium-labeled compounds-GC/MS analysis) was added to each well. A 13 mm circle (˜20 mg) leaf disc plug from ˜4 week old Nicotiana benthamiana (2 week post-inoculation) apical leaves were placed into the 96-well microtiter deepwell plate. The plate was tightly sealed and placed on a mechanical shaker (paint mixer, up to four at a time) for 2 min, then rotated 180° and shaken for an additional 2 min. Subsequently, the samples were spun for 10 min at 3200 RPM in a refrigerated (15° C.) centrifuge equipped for microtiter plates. Following centrifugation, the 96-well plate containing the homogenized samples was placed on a TECAN GENESIS RSP 200 (TECAN, Research Triangle Park, N.C.) liquid handler/robotics system. Both Logic and Gemini software were used to control the TECAN liquid handler. Samples were diluted by the TECAN liquid handler in a round bottom 96-well plate for MALDI-TOF analysis by adding 18 μl of sinapinic acid matrix and 2 μl of plant extract to each well. Samples were mixed well by aspirating/dispensing 10 μl volumes five times. A 2 μl aliquot of each sample was spotted onto a 100 sample MALDI plate. In addition, a 5.0 μl aliquot of each sample was transferred to a 96-well microtiter plate for PCR and/or MALDI backup analysis and stored at 800C. Two plant trays containing 96 individually infected each were extracted each day for 5 days.

[0433] B. MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry Analysis: An aliquot of the homogenized plant samples were diluted 1:10 with sinapinic acid (Aldrich, Milwaukee, Wis.) matrix, 2 μl applied to a stainless steel MALDI plate surface and allowed to air dry for analysis. The sinapinic acid was prepared at a concentration of 10 mg/ml in 0.1% TFA/acetonitrile (70/30) by volume. MALDI-TOF mass spectra were obtained with a PerSeptive Biosystems Voyager DE-PRO operated in the linear mode. A pulsed nitrogen laser operating at 337 nm was used in the delayed extraction mode for ionization. An acceleration voltage of 25 kV with a 90% grid voltage and a 0.1% guide wire voltage was used. Approximately 150 scans were acquired and averaged over the mass range of 2000-156,000 Da. with a low mass gate of 2000. Ion source and mirror pressures were approximately 2.2×10⁻⁷ and 8×10⁻⁸ Torr, respectively. All spectra were mass calibrated with a single-point fit using horse apomyoglobin (16,952 Da).

[0434] C. Results: This study describes a method that was developed using the high-throughout capabilities of MALDI-TOF MS to detect changes in total protein profiles of crude plant extracts derived from a Genomics GENEWARE expression library. As many as 192 samples per day were extracted and analyzed for protein profiling using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. In addition, the method has been optimized in house for detection of a wide range of protein masses from one MALDI-TOF scan. More than 50 proteins were routinely detected in a MALDI profile spectrum ranging from approx. 3,000 to 110,000 Da. In addition to the coat protein (˜17,500 Da), both small (˜14,500 Da) and large (˜52,750 Da) subunits of RuDP carboxylase were routinely detected in the plant samples. Several other proteins were common to most of the plants analyzed. The most abundant proteins were observed at around 3,386, 3,970, 4,408, 5,230, 7,280 (doubly charged ion for small sub-unit of RuDP carboxylase), 8,334, 9,350, 10,450 (most abundant protein overall), 14,020, 18,006, 19,628, 20,286, 21,173, 24,014, 25,124 and 29,140 (dimer of small sub-unit) Daltons. A series of less abundant proteins were also detected. Up-regulated or novel proteins were detected in 17.3% of the 960 spectrums that were analyzed. This file was entered into the LIMS database.

Example 14

[0435] PFam Analysis

[0436] In addition to the PFam analysis described above (Tables 1-3), PFam analysis was performed on the remainder of the nucleic acid sequences of the present invention. The results for sequences that fit into a protein family as determined by PFam are shown in Table 10.

[0437] The nucleic acid sequences were further analyzed to determine the origin of the nucleic acid. The following sequences were found to be Nicotiniana benthamiana sequences: SEQ ID NOs: 1, 2, 81, 121, 123, 124, 125, 129. The following sequences were found to be rice sequences: SEQ ID NOs: 130, 133, 134, 149. The following sequences were found to be poppy sequences: SEQ ID NOs: 148, 146, 145, 144, 143, 142, 141, 140. The remainder of SEQ ID NOs 1-154 not listed above were found to be Arabidopsis sequences. TABLE 10 PFam Analysis SEQ ID NO: PFam Family Score P-Value 4 Ribosomal S11 191.8 9.6e−59 8 Serine carbpept 154 2.6e−42 9 RF-1 83.7 2.3e−26 11 Spermine synthase 176.4 4.6-49 15 RF-1 83.7 2.3e−26 23 Aminotran-3 67.3 7.7e−23 26 Seedstore-2S 58.8 1.2e−13 31 RuBisCO-small 226.3 4.5e−64 36 Carb-anhydrase 23.7 1.4e−05 44 IF4E 86.1 7.4e−22 45 Peroxidase 106.2 6.5e−28 46 MATH 25.9 7.4e−06 50 Peroxidase 97.5 2.6e−25 51 PsbP 188.9 8.2e−53 54 RuBisCO-small 201.8   1e−56 61 Ribosomal-L14 193.5 3.3e−54 74 Ribosomal-L18p 52.3   1e−11 79 Histone 113.1 5.5e−30 83 Pectinesterase −26.5 6.8e−08 86 HSF-DNA-bind 126.2 4.1e−36 88 RCC1 51.3 3.5e−13 90 Ubiquitin 362.9  3.4e−105 99 Ubiquitin 216.4 4.4e−61 102 Ribosomal-S16 110.8 2.7e−29 103 AP2-domain 158.3 1.3e−43 106 Ribosomal-L21e 90.7 2.8e−23 107 Ribosomal-S20p 64.1 2.9e−15 111 Ribosomal-L35Ae 163.3 4.2e−45 113 TCTP 239.4 5.1e−68 117 Ribosomal-L11 149.1 7.5e−41

Example 15 Ortholog and Homolog Analysis

[0438] The nucleic acid sequences of the present invention were further analyzed by translating the nucleic acid sequence into the predicted polypeptide sequence. The corresponding amino acid sequence was then used to search protein databases for orthologs and homologs.

Example 16 ABRC Library Construction in GENEWARE Expression Vectors

[0439] Expressed sequence tag (EST) clones were obtained from the Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center (ABRC; The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210). These clones originated from Michigan State University (from the labs of Dr. Thomas Newman of the DOE Plant Research Laboratory and Dr. Chris Somerville, Carnegie Institution of Washington) and from the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Project (CNRS project; donated by the Groupement De Recherche 1003, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Dr. Bernard Lescure and colleagues). The clones were derived from cDNA libraries isolated from various tissues of Arabidopsis thaliana var Columbia. A clone set of 11,982 clones was received as glycerol stocks arrayed in 96 well plates, each with an ABRC identifier and associated EST sequence.

[0440] An ORF finding algorithm was performed on the EST clone set to find potential full-length genes. Approximately 3,200 full-length genes were found and used to make GENEWARE constructs in the sense orientation. Five thousand of the remaining clones (not full-length) were used to make GENEWARE constructs in the antisense orientation.

[0441] Full-length clones used to make constructs in the sense orientation were grown and DNA was isolated using Qiagen (Qiagen Inc., Valencia, Calif. 91355) mini-preps. Each clone was digested with NotI and Sse 8387 eight base pair enzymes. The resultant fragments were individually isolated and then combined. The combined fragments were ligated into pGTN P/N vector (with polylinker extending from PstI to NotI—5′ to 3′). For each set of 96 original clones approximately 192 colonies were picked from the pooled GENEWARE ligations, grown until confluent in deep-well 96-well plates, DNA prepped and sequenced. The ESTs matching the ABRC data was bioinformatically checked by BLAST and a list of missing clones was generated. Pools of clones found to be missing were prepared and subjected to the same process. The entire process resulted in greater than 3,000 full-length sense clones.

[0442] The negative sense clones were processed in the same manner, but ligated into pGTN N/P vector (with polylinker extending from NotI to PstI—5′ to 3′). For each set of 96 original clones approximately 192 colonies were picked from the pooled geneware ligations and DNA prepped. The DNA from the GENEWARE ligations was subjected to RFLP analysis using TaqI 4 base cutter. Novel patterns were identified for each set. The RFLP method was applied and only applicable for comparison within a single ABRC plate. This procedure resulted in greater than 6,000 negative sense clones.

[0443] The identified clones were re-arrayed, transcribed, encapsidated and used to inoculate plants.

Example 17 Inoculation of plants

[0444] A. Plant Growth. N. benthamiana seeds were sown in 6.5 cm pots filled with Redi-earth medium (Scotts) that had been pre-wetted with fertilizer solution (prepared by mixing 147 kg Peters Excel 15-5-15 Cal-Mag (The Scotts Company, Marysville Ohio), 68 kg Peters Excel 15-0-0 Cal-Lite (15% Ca), and 45 kg Peters Excel 10-0-0 MagNitrate (10% Mg) in hot tap water to 596 liters total volume and then injecting this concentrate into irrigation water using an injection system (H. E. Anderson, Muskogee Oklahoma), at a ratio of 200:1). Seeded pots were placed in the greenhouse for 1 d, transferred to a germination chamber, set to 27° C., for 2 d (Carolina Greenhouses, Kinston, N.C.), and then returned to the greenhouse. Shade curtains (33% transmittance) were used to reduce solar intensity in the greenhouse and artificial lighting, a 1:1 mixture of metal halide and high pressure sodium lamps (Sylvania) that delivered an irradiance of approximately 220 μmol m²s⁻¹, was used to extend day length to 16 h and to supplement solar radiation on overcast days. Evaporative cooling and steam heat were used to regulate greenhouse temperature, maintaining a daytime set point of 27° C. and a nighttime set point of 22° C. At approximately 7 days post sowing (dps), seedlings were thinned to one seedling per pot and at 17 to 21 dps, the pots were spaced farther apart to accommodate plant growth. Plants were watered with Hoagland nutrient solution as required. Following inoculation, waste irrigation water was collected and treated with 0.5% sodium hypochlorite for 10 minutes to neutralize any viral contamination before discharging into the municipal sewer.

[0445] B. Innoculation. For each GENEWARE™ clone, 180 μL of inoculum was prepared by combining equal volumes of encapsidated RNA transcript and FES buffer (0.1M glycine, 0.06 M K₂HPO₄, 1% sodium pyrophosphate, 1% diatomaceous earth (Sigma), and either 1% silicon carbide (Aldrich), or 1% Bentonite (Sigma)). The inoculum was applied to three greenhouse-grown Nicotiana benthamiana plants at 14 or 17 days post sowing (dps) by distributing it onto the upper surface of one pair of leaves of each plant (˜30 μL per leaf). Either the first pair of leaves or the second pair of leaves above the cotyledons was inoculated on 14 or 17 dps plants, respectively. The inoculum was spread across the leaf surface using one of two different procedures. The first procedure utilized a Cleanfoam swab (Texwipe Co, NJ) to spread the inoculm across the surface of the leaf while the leaf was supported with a plastic pot label (¾×5 2M/RL, White Thermal Pot Label, United Label). The second implemented a 3″ cotton tipped applicator (Calapro Swab, Fisher Scientific) to spread the inoculum and a gloved finger to support the leaf. Following inoculation the plants were misted with deionized water.

[0446] C. Infection. At 13 days post inoculation (dpi), the plants were examined visually and a numerical score was assigned to each plant to indicate the extent of viral infection symptoms. 0=no infection, 1=possible infection, 2=infection symptoms limited to leaves <50-75% fully expanded, 3=typical infection, 4=a typically severe infection, often accompanied by moderate to severe wilting and/or necrosis.

Example 18 Phenotypic Evaluation

[0447] At 13 dpi plants were examined and in cases where a plant's visual phenotype deviated substantially from the phenotypes of control plants, a controlled vocabulary utilizing a five-part phrase was used to describe the plants. Phrase: plant region/subpart/modifier (optional)/symptom/severity. Plant regions: sink leaves (the upper region of the plant considered to be primarily phloem sink tissue at the time of evaluation), source leaves (expanded, fully-infected leaves considered to be phloem source tissue at the time of evaluation), bypassed leaves (leaves [three and four] that display little or no infection symptoms), inoculated leaves (leaves one and two), stem. Subparts: blade, entire, flower, foci, intervein, leaf, lower, major vein, margin, minor vein, node, petiole, shoot apex, upper, vein, viral path. Modifiers: apical, associated, banded, basal, blotchy, bright, central, crinkled, dark, epinastic, flecked, glossy, gray, hyponastic, increased, intermittent, large-spotted, light, light-colored, light-green, mottled, narrowed, orange, patchy, patterned, radial, reduced, ringspot, small-spotted, smooth, spotted, streaked, subtending, uniform, unusual, white. Symptoms: bleaching, chlorosis, color, contortion, corrugation, curling, dark green, elongation, etching, hyperbranching, mild symptoms, necrosis, patterning, recovery, stunting, texture, trichomes, wilting. Severity: 1—extremely mild/trace, 2—mild symptom (<30% of subpart affected), 3—moderate symptom (30%-70% of subpart affected), 4—severe symptom (>70% of subpart affected). Based on the symptoms a phenotypic hit value (PHV) and a herbicide hit value (HHV) were assigned to each plant phenotyped. Phenotype Hit Value: 1—no predicted value; do not request for repeat analysis, 2—of uncertain value, 3—of potential value; strong phenotype, 4—highly unusual phenotype. Herbicide Hit Value: 1—no predicted value; do not request for repeat analysis, 2—of uncertain value, 3—moderate chlorosis (especially in apical region) or necrosis, 4—Severe phytotoxicity/herbicide mode of action. Comments were added if additional information was required to complete the plant characterization. Results are presented in Table 11. TABLE 11 Summary of SEQ ID NO DAS/LSBC ID Library Visual Phenotype SEQ ID NO: 149, GBSG0000175736 RICE/OJ Stunting 336 SEQ ID NO: 10, GBSG000025015 ABRC Stunting 288 SEQ ID NO: 26, GBSG000025104 ABRC Stunting 291 SEQ ID NO: 47 GBSG000025168 ABRC Stunting SEQ ID NO: 48, GBSG000025170 ABRC Stunting 297 SEQ ID NO: 58 GBSG000025427 ABRC Stunting SEQ ID NO: 59, GBSG000025431 ABRC Stunting 302 SEQ ID NO: 69, GBSG000027424 ARAB Stunting 304 SEQ ID NO: 83, GBSG000030087 ABRC Stunting 313 SEQ ID NO: 102, GBSG000045801 ABRC Stunting 321 SEQ ID NO: 103, GBSG000045804 ABRC Stunting 322 SEQ ID NO: 105, GBSG000045808 ABRC Stunting 323 SEQ ID NO: 106, GBSG000045820 ABRC Stunting 324 SEQ ID NO: 107, GBSG000045837 ABRC Stunting 325 SEQ ID NO: 109, GBSG000045850 ABRC Stunting 326 SEQ ID NO: 110, GBSG000045853 ABRC Stunting 327 SEQ ID NO: 111, GBSG000045855 ABRC Stunting 328 SEQ ID NO: 112, GBSG000045864 ABRC Stunting 329 SEQ ID NO: 113, GBSG000045866 ABRC Stunting 330 SEQ ID NO: 114, GBSG000045869 ABRC Stunting 331 SEQ ID NO: 115, GBSG000045874 ABRC Stunting 332

Example 19 Metabolic Screens

[0448] A. Sample Generation. Individual dwarf tobacco nicotiana benthamiana, (Nb) plants were manually transfected with an unique DNA sequence at 14 or 17 days post sowing using the GENEWARE™ viral vector technology (1). Plants were grown and maintained under greenhouse conditions. At 13 days after infection, an infection rating of 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 was assigned to each plant. The infection rating documents the degree of infection based on a visual observation. A score of 0 indicates no visual infection. Scores of 1 and 2 indicate varying degrees of partial infection. A score of 4 indicates a plant with a massive overload of infection, the plant is either dead or near death. A score of 3 indicates optimum spread of systemic infection.

[0449] Samples were grouped into sets of up to 96 samples per set for inoculation, harvesting and analysis. Each sample set (SDG) included 8 negative control (reference samples), up to 80 unknown (test) samples, and 8 quality control samples.

[0450] B. Harvesting. At 14 days after infection, infected leaf tissue, excluding stems and petioles, was harvested from plants with an infection score of 3. Infected tissue was placed in a labeled, 50-milliliter (mL), plastic centrifuge tube containing a tungsten carbide ball approximately 1 cm in diameter. The tube was immediately capped, and dipped in liquid nitrogen for approximately 20 seconds to freeze the sample as quickly as possible to minimize degradation of the sample due to biological processes triggered by the harvesting process. Harvested samples were maintained at −80° C. between harvest and analysis. Each sample was assigned a unique identifier, which was used to correlate the plant tissue to the DNA sequence that the plant was transfected with. Each sample set was assigned a unique identifier, which is referred to as the harvest or meta rack ID.

[0451] C. Extraction. Prior to analysis, the frozen sample was homogenized by placing the centrifuge tube on a mechanical shaker. The action of the tungsten carbide ball during approximately 30 seconds of vigorous shaking reduced the frozen whole leaf tissue to a finely homogenized frozen powder. Approximately 1 gram of the frozen powder was extracted with 7.5 mL of a solution of isopropanol (IPA):water 70:30 (v:v) by shaking at room temperature for 30 minutes.

[0452] D. Fractionation. A 1200 microliter (μL) aliquot of the IPA:water extract was partitioned with 1200 μL of hexane. The hexane layer was removed to a clean glass container. This hexane extract is referred to as fraction 1 (F1). A 90 μL aliquot of the hexane extracted IPA:water extract was removed to a clean glass container. This aliquot is referred to as fraction 4 (F4). The remaining hexane extracted IPA:water extract is referred to as fraction 3 (F3). A 200 1L aliquot of the IPA:water extract was transferred to a clean glass container and referred to as fraction 2 (F2). Each fraction for each sample was assigned a unique aliquot ID (sample name).

[0453] E. Sample Preparation & Data Generation

[0454] Fraction 1: The hexane extract was evaporated to dryness under nitrogen at room temperature. The sample containers were sealed and stored at 4° C. prior to analysis, if storage was required. Immediately prior to capillary gas chromatographic analysis using flame ionization detection (GC/FID), the F1 residue was reconstituted with 120 1L of hexane containing pentacosane and hexatriacontane which were used as internal standards for the F1 analyses. The chromatographic data files generated following GC separation and flame ionization detection were named with the fraction 1 aliquot ID for each sample and stored in a folder named after the harvest rack (sample set) ID. FIG. 8a summarizes the GC/FID parameters used to analyze fraction 1 samples.

[0455] Fraction 2: The F2 aliquot was evaporated to dryness under nitrogen at room temperature and reconstituted in heptane containing 2 internal standards, C11:0 and C24:0. In general, fraction 2 is designed to analyze esterified fatty acids, such as phospholipids, triacylglycerides, and thioesters. In order to analyze these compounds by GC/FID, they were transmethylated to their respective methyl esters by addition of sodium methoxide in methanol and heat. Excess reagent was quenched by the addition of a small amount of water, which results in phase separation. The fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) were contained in the organic phase. FIG. 8b summarizes the GC/FID parameters used to analyze fraction 2 samples.

[0456] Fraction 3: The F3 aliquot was evaporated to dryness under nitrogen at 40° C. In general, the metabolites in this fraction are highly polar and water-soluble. In order to analyze these compounds by GC/FID, the polar functional groups on these compounds were silylated through a 2-step derivatization process. Initially, the residue was reconstituted with 400 μL of pyridine containing hydroxylamine hydrochloride (25 mg/ml) and the internal standard, n-octyl-βD-glucopyranoside (OXIME solution). The derivatization was completed by the addition of 400 μL of the commercially available reagent (N,O-bis[Trimethylsily]trifluoroacetamide)+1% Trimethylchlorosilane (BSTFA+1% TMCS). The chromatographic data files generated following GC separation and flame ionization detection were named with the fraction 3 aliquot ID for each sample and stored in a folder named after the harvest rack (sample set) ID. FIG. 8c summarizes the GC/FID parameters used to analyze fraction 2 samples.

[0457] Fraction 4: The F4 aliquot was diluted with 90 μL of distilled water and 20 μL of an 0.1 N hydrochloric acid solution containing norvaline and sarcosine, which are amino acids that are used as internal standards for the amino acids analysis. Immediately prior to high performance liquid chromatographic analysis using fluorescence detection (HPLC/FLD), the amino acids in F4 are mixed in the HPLC injector at room temperature with buffered orthophtaldehyde solution, which derivatizes primary amino acids, followed by fluorenyl methyl chloroformate, which derivatizes secondary amino acids. Following HPLC separation and fluorescence detection, chromatographic data files were generated for each sample, named with a sequential number which can be tracked back to the F4 aliquot ID, and stored in a folder named after the harvest rack (sample set) ID. FIG. 8d summarizes the HPLC/FLD parameters used to analyze fraction 4 samples.

[0458] F. Data Analysis & Hit Detection. Two complementary methods were used to identify modifications in the metabolic profile of test samples from reference samples. These data analysis methods are called automated data analysis (ADA) and quantitative data analysis. Each fraction from each sample was analyzed by one or both of these methods to identify hits. If either method identified a fraction as a hit, the sample was called a hit for that fraction. Therefore a sample could be a hit for 1 through 4 fractions.

[0459] ADA employs a qualitative pattern recognition approach using ABNORM (U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,402), which is a proprietary software utility of the Dow Chemical Company. ADA was performed on chromatograms from all 4 fractions. The ADA process developed a statistical model from chromatograms that ideally depict unaltered (reference) metabolic profiles. This model was then used to identify test sample chromatograms that contain statistically significant differences from the normal (control) chromatograms. Updated models for each fraction were generated for each sample set. Chromatograms identified as hits by ADA, were manually reviewed and the data quality visually verified.

[0460] Quantitative data analysis is based on individual peak areas. Quantitative data analysis was applied to specific compounds of interest in fraction 2, fatty acids, and fraction 4, amino acids. The peak areas corresponding to these compounds in these fractions were generated. For fraction 2, the relative percent of the peak areas for the compounds in Table V were calculated for each sample. The average ({overscore (x)}) and standard deviation (STD) of the relative % of the peak areas for the individual compounds were calculated from the reference sample chromatograms analyzed within the sample set. The average and STD were used to calculate a range for each compound. Depending on the compound, this range was typically {overscore (x)}+/−3 or 5 STDs. If the relative percent of the peak area from an unknown was outside this range, the compound was considered to be significantly different from the ‘normal’ level and the sample was identified as a hit for F2. For fraction 4, the concentration, in micrograms/gram was calculated for each of the amino acids listed in Table 12, from calibration standards analyzed at the same time as the test samples. The amino acid concentrations from reference samples were used to calculate the acceptable range from the {overscore (x)} and STD for each amino acid. If the amino acid concentration for an unknown falls outside this range, the amino acid was considered to be different from normal and sample was identified as a hit for F4. TABLE 12 Tobacco Metabolites Monitored in Fractions 2 and 4 by Quantitative Analysis Fraction 4 Fraction 2 (Fatty Acids) (Amino Acids) undecanoic acid methyl ester* C11:0 Aspartic Acid ASP Pentadecanoic acid methyl ester** C15:0 Glutamic GLU Acid Pentadecanoic acid ethyl ester** C15:0 Serine SER palmitic acid methyl ester C16:0 Histidine HIS palmitoleic acid methyl ester C16:1 Glycine GLY iso methylpentadecanoic acid methyl C16:0:Me Threonine THR ester palmitoleic acid methyl ester C16:2 Alanine ALA palmitolenic acid methyl ester C16:3 Arginine ARG iso methylhexadecanoic acid methyl C17:0Me Tyrosine TYR ester Stearic acid methyl ester C18:0 Cystine CY2 Oleic acid methyl ester C18:1 Valine VAL Linoleic acid methyl ester C18:2 Methionine MET Linolenic acid methyl ester C18:3 Norvaline* NVA Arachidic acid methyl ester C20:0 Tryptohane TRP Lignoceric acid methyl ester* C24:0 Phenylalanine PHE Isoleucine ILE Leucine LEU Lysine LYS Sarcosine* SAR Proline PRO

[0461] Shipping Hits. Any F1, F2, or F3 fractions identified as hits by ADA or quantitative analysis, and the most typical null for each fraction for each sample set as identified by ADA, were sent to the Function Discovery Laboratory (see Example 20) for structural characterization of the specific compounds identified. Samples were sealed, packaged on dry ice and shipped for overnight delivery.

Example 20 Identification of Metabolic Changes

[0462] This Example describes the identification of the chemical nature of genetic modifications made in tobacco plants using GENEWARE viral vector technology. The protocols involved the use of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) for the analyses of three primary fractions obtained from extraction and fractionation processes.

[0463] A. Methods. Major instruments and accessories used included Bioinformatics computer programs, mass spectral libraries, Biotech databases, Nautilus LIMS system (BLIMS; Dow), Biotech Database (eBRAD; Dow), HP Model 6890 capillary Gas Chromatograph (GC; Agilent Technologies), HP Model 5973 Mass Selective Detector (MSD; Agilent Technologies), Auto Sampler and Sample Preparation Station (Leap Technologies), Large Volume Injector system (APEX), Ultra Freezer (Revco), and model LS1006 Barcode Reader (Symbol Technologies).

[0464] Samples and corresponding References (also referred to as controls or nulls) were shipped via overnight mail. Samples were removed from the shipping container, inspected for damage, and then placed in a freezer until analysis by GC/MS.

[0465] Samples were received in vials or in titer plates with a bar-coded titer plate (TP) number, also referred to as a Rack Identification number that is used to track the sample in the BLIMS system. The barcode number is used by the FDL to extract from BLIMS pertinent information from ADA (Automated chromatographic pattern recognition Data Analysis) HIT reports and/or QUANT (a quantitative data analysis approach that makes use of individual peak areas of select peaks corresponding to specific compounds of interest in the fatty acid Fraction 2) HIT reports generated by the Metabolic Screening Laboratory. The information in these reports includes the well position of the respective HITs (Samples), the corresponding well position of the Reference, and other pertinent information, such as, aliquot identification. This information is used to generate ChemStation and Leap sequences for FDL analyses.

[0466] Samples were sequenced for analysis in the following order: TABLE 13 Analysis Order Solvent Blank Instrument Performance Standard Samples and Associated Reference . . . Performance Standard Solvent Blank

[0467] Samples were analyzed on GC/MS systems using the following procedures. Fraction 1 samples were shipped dry and required a hexane reconstitution step. Fraction 2 and Fraction 3 samples were analyzed as received. Internal standards were added to the samples prior to analysis.

[0468] B. Fraction 1 Analysis. The name of the GC/MS method used is BIONEUTx (where x is a revision number of the core GC/MS method). The method is retention-time locked to the retention time of pentacosane, an internal standard, using the ChemStation RT Locking algorithm.

[0469] Internal Standard(s)

[0470] Pentacosane

[0471] Hexatriacontane Chromatography Column: J&W DB-5MS 50 M × 0.320 mm × 0.25 μm film Mode: constant flow Flow: 2.0 mL/min Detector: MSD Outlet psi: vacuum Oven: 40° C. for 2.0 min 20° C./min to 350° C., hold 15.0 min Equilibration time: 1 min Inlet: Mode: split Inj Temp: 250° C. Split ratio: 50:1 Gas Type: Helium LEAP Injector: Injector: Inj volume: optimized to pentacosane peak intensity (typically 20 μL) Sample pumps: 2 Wash solvent A: Hexane Wash solvent B: Acetone Preinj Solvent A washes: 2 Preinj Solvent B washes: 2 Postinj Solvent A washes: 2 Postinj Solvent B washes: 2 APEX Injector Method Name: BIONEUTx (where x is a revision number of the core APEX method). Modes: Initial: Standby (GC Split) Splitless: (Purge Off) 0.5 min GC Split: (Standby) 4 min ProSep Split: (Flow Select) 23 min Temps: 50° C. for 0.0 min. 300° C./min to 350° C., hold for 31.5 min Mass Spectrometer Scan: 35-800 Da at sampling rate 2 (1.96 scans/sec) Solvent delay: 4.0 min Detector: EM absolute: False EM offset: 0 Temps: Transfer line: 280° C. Ion source: 150° C. MS Source: 230° C.

[0472] C. Fraction 2 Analysis: The name of the GC/MS method used is BIOFAMEx (where x is a revision number of the core GC/MS method). The method is retention-time locked to RT of undecanoic acid, methyl ester, an internal standard, using the ChemStation RT Locking algorithm.

[0473] Internal Standard(s)

[0474] Undecanoic acid, methyl ester

[0475] Tetracosanoic acid, methyl ester Chromatography Column: J & W DB-23 FAME 60 M × 0.250 mm × 0.15 μm film Mode: constant flow Flow: 2.0 mL/min Detector: MSD Outlet psi: vacuum Oven: 50° C. for 2.0 min 20° C./min to 240° C., hold 10.0 min Equilibration time: 1 min Inlet: Mode: split Inj Temp: 240° C. Split ratio: 50:1 Gas Type: Helium LEAP Injector: Injector: Inj volume: optimized to undecanoic acid, methyl ester peak intensity (Typically 10 μL) Sample pumps: 2 Wash solvent A: Methanol Wash solvent B: Methanol Preinj Solvent A washes: 2 Preinj Solvent B washes: 2 Postinj Solvent A washes: 2 Postinj Solvent B washes: 2 APEX Injector Method Name: BIOFAMEx (where x is a revision number of the core APEX method). Modes: Initial: GC Split Splitless: 0.5 min GC Split: 4 min ProSep Split: 21 min Temps: 60° C. for 0.5 min. 300° C./min to 250° C., hold for 20 min 300° C./min to 260° C., hold for 5 min Mass Spectrometer Scan: 35-800 Da at sampling rate 2 (1.96 scans/sec) Solvent delay: 4.5 min Detector: EM absolute: False EM offset: 0 Temps: Transfer line: 200° C. Ion source: 150° C. MS Source: 230° C.

[0476] D. Fraction 3 Analysis. The name of the GC/MS method used is BIOAQUAx (where x is a revision number of the core GC/MS method). Method is retention-time locked to the RT of n-Octyl-β-D-Glucopyranoside, an internal standard, using the ChemStation RT Locking algorithm.

[0477] Internal Standard(s)

[0478] n-Octyl-β-D-Glucopyranoside Chromatography Column: Chrompack 7454 CP-SIL 8 60 M × 0.320 mm × 0.25 μm film Mode: constant flow Flow: 2.0 mL/min Detector: MSD Outlet psi: vacuum Oven: 40° C. for 2.0 min 20° C./min to 350° C., hold 10.0 min Equilibration time: 1 min Inlet: Mode: split Inj Temp: 250° C. Split ratio: 50:1 Gas Type: Helium LEAP Injector: Injector: Inj volume: Optimized to n-Octyl-β- D-Glucopyranoside peak intensity (Typically 2.5 μL) Sample pumps: 2 Wash solvent A: Hexane Wash solvent B: Acetone Preinj Solvent A washes: 2 Preinj Solvent B washes: 2 Postinj Solvent A washes: 2 Postinj Solvent B washes: 2 APEX Injector Method Name: BIOAQUAx (where x is a revision number of the core APEX method). Modes: Initial: GC Split Splitless: 0.5 min GC Split: 4 min ProSep Split: 20 min Temps: 60° C. for 0.5 min. 300° C./min to 350° C., hold for 21.1 min Mass Spectrometer Scan: 35-800 Da at sampling rate 2 (1.96 scans/sec) Solvent delay: 4.0 min Detector: EM absolute: False EM offset: 0 Temps: Transfer line: 280° C. Ion source: 150° C. MS Source: 230° C.

[0479] E. Performance Standard: Two mixtures were used as instrument performance standards. One standard was run with Fraction 1 and 3 samples and the second was run with Fraction 2 samples. Below is the composition of the standards as well as approximate retention time values observed when run under the GC/MS conditions previously described. These retention time values are subject to change depending upon specific instrument and chromatographic conditions. TABLE 14 Fraction 1 and 3 Performance Standard Time Compound 6.25 dimethyl malonate 7.25 dimethyl succinate 8.15 dimethyl glutarate 8.98 dimethyl adipate 11.06 dimethyl azelate 11.42 hexadecane 11.70 dimethyl sebacate 13.57 eicosane 15.36 tetracosane 16.88 octacosane 18.26 dotriacontane 19.95 hexatriacontane

[0480] TABLE 15 Fraction 2 Performance Standard Time Compound 8.82 undecanoic acid, methyl ester 9.32 dodecanoic acid, methyl ester 10.24 tetradecanoic acid, methyl ester 11.07 hexadecanoic acid, methyl ester 11.84 octadecanoic acid, methyl ester 11.90 oleic acid, methyl ester 12.14 linoleic acid, methyl ester 12.39 linoleic acid, methyl ester 12.60 eicosanoic acid, methyl ester 13.42 docosanoic acid, methyl ester

[0481] F. Data Analysis. Sample and Reference data sets were processed using the Bioinformatics computer program Maxwell. The principal elements of the program are 1) Data Reduction, 2) two-dimensional Peak Matching, 3) Quantitative Peak Differentiation (Determination of Relative Quantitative Change), 4) Peak Identification, 5) Data Sorting, and 6) Customized Reporting.

[0482] The program queries the user for the filenames of the Reference data set and Sample data set(s) to compare against the Reference. A complete listing of user inputs with example input is shown below. TABLE 16 Bioinformatics Analysis USER QUERY EXAMPLE USER INPUT Operator Name M. Maxwell Total number of data files to process  5 Which Fraction  3 Reference (Control) File Name AAPR0020.D Process a specific RT Range Y Specific RT range  6.5-23 Internal Standard Retention Time 14.902 +/− variation in Internal Std. RT  .004 Variation in peak RI, ChemStation  .005 Percent variation in peak RI, Biotech  .010 Database Threshold for determining Area % change 60 Spectral Matching Value (Threshold MS-  .95 XCR for peaks to be a match) Percent to determine LOP-PM* Value  1 Percent to determine LOP-SRT** Value  3 Quality Level for Library (Library match) 80 Subtract Background Y Time Range for Background 21.5-22.6 SHORT SUMMARY (y/n, y = no Y chromatograms)

[0483] The program integrates the Total Ion Chromatogram (TIC) of the data sets using Agilent Technologies HP ChemStation integrator parameters determined by the analyst. The corresponding raw peak areas are then normalized to the respective Internal Standard peak area. It should be noted that before the normalization is performed, the program chromatographically and spectrally identifies the Internal Standard peak. Should the identification of the Internal Standard not meet established criteria for a given Fraction, then the data set will not be further processed and it will be flagged for analyst intervention.

[0484] Peak tables from the Reference and each Sample were generated. The peak tables are comprised of retention time (RT), retention index (R1)- the retention time relative to the Internal Standard RT, raw peak areas, peak areas normalized to the Internal Standard, and other pertinent information.

[0485] The first of two filtering criteria, established by the analyst was then invoked and must be met before a peak is further processed. The criterion is based upon a peak's normalized area. All normalized peaks having values below the Limit of Processing for Peak Matching (LOP-PM), were considered to be “background”. These “peaks” were not carried forth for any type of mathematical calculation or spectral comparison.

[0486] In the initial peak-matching step, the Sample peak table was compared to the Reference peak table and peaks between the two were paired based upon their respective RI values matching one another (within a given variable window). The next step in the peak matching routine utilized mass spectral data. Sample and Reference peaks that have been chromatographically matched were then compared spectrally. The spectral matching was performed using a mass spectral cross-correlation algorithm within the Agilent Technologies HP ChemStation software. The cross-correlation algorithm generates an equivalence value based upon spectral “fit” that was used to determine whether the chromatographically matched peaks are spectrally similar or not. This equivalence value is referred to as the MS-XCR value and must meet or exceed a predetermined value for a pair of peaks to be “MATCHED,” which means they appear to be the same compound in both the Reference and the Sample. The MS-XCR value can also be used to judge peak purity. This two-dimensional peak matching process was repeated until all potential peak matches were processed. At the end of the process, peaks are categorized into two categories, MATCHED and UNMATCHED.

[0487] A second filtering criterion was next invoked, again based upon the normalized area of the MATCHED or UNMATCHED peak. For a peak to be reported and further processed, its normalized area must meet or exceed the predetermined Limit of Processing for Sorting (LOP-SRT).

[0488] Peaks that are UNMATCHED are immediately flagged as different. UNMATCHED peaks are of two types. There are those that are reported in the Reference but appear to be absent in the Sample (based upon criteria for quantitation and reporting). These peaks were designated in the Analyst Report with a percent change of “-100 percent” and the description “UNMATCHED IN SAMPLE.” The second types of peaks are those that were not reported in the Reference (again, based upon criteria for quantitation and reporting) but were reported in the Sample, thus appearing to be “new” peaks. These peaks were designated in the Analyst Report with a percent change of “100 percent” and the description “NEW PEAK UNMATCHED IN NULL.”

[0489] MATCHED peaks were processed further for relative quantitative differentiation. This quantitative differentiation is expressed as a percent change of the Sample peak area relative to the area of the Reference peak. A predetermined threshold for change must be observed for the change to be determined biochemical and statistically significant. The change threshold is based upon previously observed biological and analytical variability factors. Only changes above the threshold for change were reported.

[0490] Peaks were then processed through the peak identification process as follows. The mass spectra of the peaks were first searched against mass spectral plant metabolite libraries. The equivalence value assigned to the library match was used as an indication of a proper identification.

[0491] To provide additional confirmation to the identity of a peak, or to suggest other possibilities, library hits were searched further against a Biotechnology database. The Biotechnology database is based on the Access database program from Accelrys (formerly Synopsis) and utilizes Accord for Access (also available from Accelrys) to incorporate chemical structures into the database.

[0492] The Chemical Abstract Services (CAS) number of the compound from the library was searched against those contained in the database. If a match was found, the CAS number in the database was then correlated to the data acquisition method for that record. If the method was matched, the program then compared the retention index (RI), in the Peak Table, of the component against the value contained in the database for that given method. Should the RI's match (within a given window of variability) then the peak identity was given a high degree of certainty. Components in the Sample that are not identified by this process were assigned a unique identifier based upon Fraction Number and RI (example: F1-U0.555). The unique identifier was used to track unknown components. The program then sorts the data and generates an Analyst Report.

[0493] An Analyst Report is an interim report consisting of PBM algorithm match quality value (equivalence value), RT, Normalized Peak Area, RI (Sample), RI (database) Peak Identification status [peak identity of high certainty (peaks were identified by the program based on the pre-established criteria) or criteria not met (program did not positively identify the component)], Component Name, CAS Number, Mass Spectral Library (containing spectrum most closely matched to that of the component), Unknown ID (unique identifier used to track unidentified components), MS-XCR value, Relative % Change, Notes (TCHED/UNMATCHED), and other miscellaneous information. The Analyst Report was reviewed manually by the analyst who determined what further analysis was necessary. The analyst also generated a modified report, for further processing by the program, by editing the Analyst Report accordingly.

[0494] For Fractions 2 and 3, derivatization procedures were performed prior to analysis to make the certain components more amenable to gas chromatography. Thus, the compound names in the modified analyst report (MAR) were those of the derivatives. To accurately reflect the true components of these fractions, the MAR was further processed using information contained in an additional database. This database cross-references the observed derivatized compound to that of the original, underivatized “parent” compound by way of their respective CAS numbers and replaces derivatives with parent names and information for the final report. In addition, any unidentified components were assigned a “999999-99-9” CAS number.

[0495] The Modified Analyst Report also contains a HIT Score of 0, 1, or 2. The value is assigned by the analyst to the data set of the Sample aliquot based on the following criteria:

[0496] 0 No FDL data on Sample

[0497] 1 FDL data collected; Sample not FDL HIT

[0498] 2 FDL data collected; Sample is FDL HIT

[0499] An FDL HIT is defined as a reportable percent change (modification) observed in a Sample relative to Reference in a component of biochemical significance.

[0500] An electronic copy of the final report is entered into the Nautilus LIMS system (BLIMS) and subsequently into eBRAD (Biotech database). The program also generated a hardcopy of the pinpointed TIC and the respective mass spectrum of each component that was reported to have changed.

[0501] “NQ” and “NEW” are two terms used in the final report. Both terms refer to UNMATCHED peaks whose percent changes cannot be reported in a numerically quantitative fashion. These terms are defined as follows:

[0502] “NQ” is used in the case where there was a peak reported in the Reference for which there was no match in the Sample (either because there was no peak in the Sample or, if there was, the area of the peak did not satisfy the Limit of Processing for Peak Matching). The percent change designation of “—100%” used in the Analyst report is replaced with “NQ”.

[0503] “NEW” is used in those situations where a peak was reported in the Sample but for which there was no corresponding match in the Reference (either because there was no peak in the Reference or, if there was, the area of the peak did not satisfy the Limit of Processing for Peak Matching). For these situations, the percent change designation of “100%” used in the Analyst Report is replaced with “NEW”. The designation of “NEW” in the final report to a component that is present in the Sample but not in the Reference was necessary to eliminate any ambiguity with the appearance of “100%” for MATCHED peaks. A “100%” designation in the final report exclusively refers to a component with modification that doubled in the Sample relative to the Reference.

[0504] G. Results. The results of the metabolic screening are summarized in FIGS. 10a-10 ffff. Transfection with 55 of the inserts resulted in measurable metabolic changes.

[0505] All publications and patents mentioned in the above specification are herein incorporated by reference. Various modifications and variations of the described compositions and methods of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Although the invention has been described in connection with particular preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the inventions claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of the described modes for carrying out the invention which are obvious to those skilled in the art and in fields related thereto are intended to be within the scope of the following claims.

0 SEQUENCE LISTING The patent application contains a lengthy “Sequence Listing” section. A copy of the “Sequence Listing” is available in electronic form from the USPTO web site (http://seqdata.uspto.gov/sequence.html?DocID=20040088762). An electronic copy of the “Sequence Listing” will also be available from the USPTO upon request and payment of the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.19(b)(3). 

What is claimed is:
 1. An isolated nucleic acid selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 334, 280, 335, 336, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289, 338, 290, 291, 292, 293, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298, 299, 339, 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312, 314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 319, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 333, 337 and nucleic acid sequences that hybridize to any thereof under conditions of low stringency, wherein expression of said isolated nucleic acid in a plant results in an altered metabolism phenotype of said plant.
 2. A vector comprising the isolated nucleic acid of claim
 1. 3. The vector of claim 2, wherein said isolated nucleic acid is operably linked to a plant promoter.
 4. A vector according to claims 2-3, wherein said isolated nucleic acid is in sense orientation.
 5. A vector according to claims 2-3, wherein said isolated nucleic acid is in antisense orientation.
 6. A plant transfected with an isolated nucleic acid, composition, or vector according to claims 1-5.
 7. A seed from the plant of claim
 6. 8. A leaf from the plant of claim
 6. 9. An isolated nucleic acid, composition, or vector according to claims 1-5, for use in altering the metabolism of a plant.
 10. A process for making a transgenic plant comprising a. providing a vector according to claims 2-5 and a plant, b. and transfecting said plant with said vector.
 11. A process for altering the metabolism of a plant comprising a. providing a vector according to claims 2-5 and a plant, b. and transfecting said plant with said vector under conditions such that the metabolism of the plant is altered by expression of said isolated nucleic acid from said vector.
 12. An isolated nucleic acid selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 47, 58, 336, 288, 291, 297, 302, 304, 313, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 331, 332, and nucleic acid sequences that hybridize to any thereof under conditions of low stringency, wherein expression of said isolated nucleic acid in a plant results in a stunting phenotype of said plant.
 13. A vector comprising the isolated nucleic acid of claim
 12. 14. The vector of claim 13, wherein said isolated nucleic acid is operably linked to a plant promoter.
 15. A vector according to claims 13-14, wherein said isolated nucleic acid is in sense orientation.
 16. A vector according to claims 13-14, wherein said isolated nucleic acid is in antisense orientation.
 17. A plant transfected with an isolated nucleic acid, composition, or vector according to claims 12-16.
 18. A seed from the plant of claim
 17. 19. A leaf from the plant of claim
 17. 20. An isolated nucleic acid, composition, or vector according to claims 13-16, for use in stunting a plant.
 21. A process for producing a transgenic industrial crop plant comprising a. providing a vector according to claims 13-16 and a plant, b. and transfecting said plant with said vector.
 22. A process for producing a stunting phenotype in an industrial crop plant comprising a. providing a vector according to claims 13-16 and a plant, b. and transfecting said plant with said vector under conditions such that a stunting phenotype is produced by expression of said isolated nucleic acid from said vector.
 23. An isolated nucleic acid selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 334, 280, 335, 336, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289, 338, 290, 291, 292, 293, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298, 299, 339, 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312, 314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 319, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 333, 337 and nucleic acid sequences that hybridize to any thereof under conditions of low stringency for use in altering the metabolism of a plant.
 24. An isolated nucleic acid selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 47, 58, 336, 288, 291, 297, 302, 304, 313, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 331, 332, and nucleic acid sequences that hybridize to any thereof under conditions of low stringency for use in producing a stunting phenotype in a plant.
 25. An isolated nucleic acid, composition or vector according to claims 1-24 substantially as described herein in any of the examples.
 26. A process for the characterization of fractionated biological samples, comprising: a) providing i) one or more fractionated biological samples; ii) a plurality of references samples; iii) a gas chromatography apparatus; iv) a mass spectroscopy apparatus; and v) data analysis software; and b) treating said fractionated biological samples and said reference samples with said gas chromatography apparatus to generate chromatographic data corresponding to said fractionated biological samples and said reference samples; c) treating said fractionated biological samples and said reference samples with said mass spectroscopy apparatus to generate spectroscopic data corresponding to said fractionated biological samples and said reference samples; and d) processing said chromatographic and said spectroscopic data with said data analysis software.
 27. The method of claim 26, wherein said processing includes a data reduction step comprising the generation of peak tables corresponding to said chromatographic data.
 28. The method of claim 27, wherein said peak tables comprise retention time, retention index, raw peak areas, and normalized peak areas data corresponding to said chromatographic data.
 29. The method of claims 27-28, wherein said processing includes the step of two-dimensional peak matching comprising the steps of a) matching peaks from said chromatographic data corresponding to said reference sample and said spectral data corresponding to said biological samples to generated paired peaks, wherein said paired peaks have the same retention index; and b) matching said paired peaks based on said spectroscopic data to generate matched peaks and unmatched peaks. 